Leaderboard

It's just become more and more difficult to have a great ride-centric day at CP. Due to crowds and extreme downtime issues, we spent less time than ever inside the park during our 5 day trip in July. Staying at Breakers, we spent a significant amount of time at the Beach, pools and CP Shores. With no Dragster or Valravn (down for 2 weeks including when we were there) plus regular daily downtime on Maverick, SV, Magnum and Raptor, it wasn't the best. That's been my experience a lot in the last 3-4 years. 2020 with the access passes was nightmarish and the extreme FLP lines on busy days even scuttles the value of paying another $150 per person to get that add on. Restrooms remain an ugly problem as well, and food quality/service is spotty and certainly below what you generally get at KI.

They seem to be working on the lift motor as of this moment. A few cars parked right next to it. Update: A few more cars showed up with people heading to the lift motor area. They are definitely working on it.

Looks like the park map is missing from the Haunt website. The maze description lists the location though. https://www.visitkingsisland.com/events/haunt/attractions?category=mazes Cornered is listed as being in Action Zone but I would assume it's staying in Tower Gardens. Hotel St. Michelle is listed as being in Coney Mall. So I would guess it's going in Action Theater. It'll take some creativity to make it look like a hotel on the outside! (Anyone know why they chose the name "Michelle"?) That means nothing is going the Blackout building. I guess it makes sense to put the hotel in Action Theater vs. the Blackout building. Urgent Scare was set up with different rooms to move through while Blackout/Club Blood was mainly narrow hallways from what I remember.

I used to see a lot of Kings Island ads; especially for Mystic Timbers. I never saw any TV ads for Orion.

Which at that point I would seriously argue the validity of the whole voting scheme. Is this based off of ride quality? ride quantity? overall guest experience? food options? or is this based off of coaster events, the catering (or lack thereof) to enthusiasts wills and whims? While yes, there are always going to be individuals you may disagree with or may not like due to their statements, to use that as a point of conjecture of whether or not if a park is great honestly doesn't sit well with me. Just because I had one guy at X park be a jerk about his position (I've seen more power tripping this year than I have in 5 years for reference), doesn't mean I am going to discount the whole park. As, typically, on the same day I can have a great interaction with another associate who cares about the guests. Does that justify someone being a jerk? No, in fact I know nothing about the supposed CP spokes incident and I have no frame of reference to say the individual was in the wrong or right. What I can say is that I know plenty of individuals who work at various parks, including Cedar Point, who bust their butts to give the guests the best day experience; so to say that a park isn't good based off of one person who happens to be in a position that is more prominent rather than the collective makes me somewhat disappointed.

I assume KI will just slap a bandaid on Diamondback and try to find the quickest fix to keep it running until the off season then I think we will see a re paint and new lift motor next year.

^Not only that, but it is also being noticed by the non-enthusiasts. This is the first time in probably forever that you seem to see more posts on social media where people say KI is a better park than CP. Sure they have the hotels and the beach and scenic views, but KI associates absolutely kick butt in getting rides dispatched, our maintenance works their butts off to keep ride downtime to a minimum, we run rides in rain, we have better food overall (yeah I know some of the newer CP places beat ours), and we don't have 45min + FastLane lines. When was the last time (excluding TTD) that CP had the remaining coasters operating all day? I know die-hard CP fans that after the past few years experiences of ridiculous long wait times, slow dispatches, rides and food closed, that they skipped CP this year.

CP has shot themselves in the foot with the people who vote in the awards, enthusiasts. Look at Coaster Mania. It has been going down hill for years. I have refused to go for a long time. There are just way better events to spend my time and money on. Kings Island has improved CoasterStock each year, getting feedback from attendees and actually implementing the suggestions in the event if possible. That is seen and noticed. When you have some communication directors who are only seen and available when it is convenient, that is noticed as well.

Golden Tickets are always an oddball deal for me. Some make sense, while others just flat out puzzle me to no end. There are favorites and there is favoritism within the voting base of the dubbed "experts" of the polling data of whom just make me laugh and gawk all at the same time. (Beast at #5, Hagrids being infront of Millennium Force, Flying "Didn't open in time" Turns getting the #1 coaster award when probably less than half of the people voting actually rode it. [I even heard some jest that it 'deserved' the award]). Personally I don't put a lot of weight into the awards as honestly it will not sway my opinions. Is it a boon for parks to get new awards to help attendance? Of course it is however the voting base makes me question a lot about their experience. With that being said, I can resolutely say that Kings Island really pulled out the stops this year and kicked some serious competition into the industry with our food options for the event. Which to be quite honest, really made me reconsider where did I get the best meal at in 2022 in terms of the park. I can also say with or without some golden award I will still see Kings Island as a truly world class themepark and waterpark (that deserves a new water coaster eventually).

With the number of mazes being cut in recent years, management is probably wishing it had been torn down with Son of Beast. Probably would have added little cost to the overall demolition budget. Now it would be hard to justify the cost of tearing it down as a stand alone project.

We should see the park post the official Haunt map sometime before the 23rd.

So will the Wolfpack building be SBNO?

Likely related to pandemic. In 2020, there were capacity limits. In 2021, there were staffing issues. In 2022, people came to the park and spent record amounts on money. So they didnt need traditional ads.

I would argue otherwise. Cedar Point’s budget for 2022 was probably really high with the renovations at their resorts costing tens or millions of dollars. Add in the new Farmhouse restaurant, and their budget was definitely pretty high. Cedar Point’s budget looks to be very high again for 2023 with The Boardwalk area which contains a $12,000,000 restaurant, a new family coaster, an entire area refresh, and ride relocations. If Top Thrill Dragster re-opens next year, it’s refresh will likely cost millions. Cedar Fair is investing a lot of money into Cedar Point, and the park is getting better in many ways. I wish Kings Island would take some notes and invest into newly reimagined areas and new restaurants. The issue is that the park just cannot staff well. Poor staffing leads to poor operations, closed food locations, and rides breaking down more. Ultimately, these issues hurt the guest experience significantly.

It takes years for categories like this to move and change. People may not be voting based on experiences this year because how often are they actually getting to these parks? The awards are voted on by enthusiasts, its a select group because you have to apply, and have a certain level of travel to be even considered. Its people who go out and travel and visit parks who vote, although that does essentially mean the people who vote are typically older individuals with the time and money to travel. From what I have heard but have no way to confirm there is a lot of overlap between ACE members and the voters. All of this means enthusiast events might be how they experienced the park. Plus its very common for parks which host a big ACE event like coaster con, which was at Cedar Point this summer, to suddenly see a lot of movement in the rankings. Its possible this really is a reflection of how people felt about an event this summer. I was at Coaster Mania this year, personally I felt it was pretty bad and was definitely the worst Coaster Mania I have ever attended, but I don't want to turn this post into a complaint about one event. I really wished I had gotten an invite to Holiwood Nights instead because I am confident I would have preferred that. How many people have stories about terrible staffing during the start and end of the season? The terrible lines for food and rides during the fall, especially during Haunt? I have a friend who visited during Haunt in 2020, and had the worst experience they have ever had at Cedar Point and I believe one of the worst experiences they have ever had at an amusement park. Even if the park improves next year I do not expect to see it back in the top 5 anytime soon, once you lose the spot on any of these lists, earning your way back up is difficult. You cannot be better for one or two years, you have to really improve and be better then the competition for a long time.

After CP 150th celebration, I imagine their 2022 budget was significantly lower, which resulted in lack luster park entertainment, no new attraction draw, and lowing the starting wage for new staff from $20 to $15 per hour. Coastermania was the worst it has ever been (2022 definitely hit rock bottom) in many years and it showed (and that’s even after an extensive attendee survey in 2021 for which none of that feedback appeared to be taken seriously). Opening two additional properties (Sawcreek Mill and the remodeled Castaway Bay) didn’t help their staff resort shortage either, and it showed (rooms were rarely ready by 4pm check in during the season as it appeared only a portion of resort rooms were being utilized). Add to the mix that several coasters always seemed down (especially for early openings) didn’t help either. Other parks are stepping up the competition for best amusement park while CP took a pause in 2022 for whatever reason. It’s always difficult to make up ground once you fall in the rankings.

Found! It was Banana Splits in Hocus Pocus Park. Mods feel free to delete this if needed or keep it for anyone else looking for it

Which is really a shame. It’s hard to run a resort properly when you run into staffing issues.

Cedar Fair has a really good working relationship with WhiteWater West currently. WhiteWater West is known for their body slide/tube slide complexes and CF has had great success with the combo deal and from what I understand the new go to is kiddie complexes for the waterparks that desperately need new kids areas. As a trend based off of the past few years, CF buys in bulk and spreads it out to the rest of the chain. KI is definitely due and unfortunately I believe our beloved pirate ship or the old Koala Splash (I forget the name it is now unfortunately as I haven't ridden the slide since back then) will be replaced with a set. I could definitely see us getting a water coaster eventually, but I expect an airtime machine similar to Wildebeest rather than something like a SAUCER for the sake of placement in the back of the park.

That would be nice to see next season along with a fresh paint job.

A great family section of the park immersive. Maybe work with Sallie come up with a grest dark ride.

Well yes, but actually no.

Had this man not had the vision and grit to do what he did, there would be no KI, KD, Canada's Wonderland and Carowinds would likely be industrial warehouses. Please show some respect for the man who brought all of this to life.

Everyone should always keep in mind that we may not know the age of the person behind the keyboard. You could be replying to a 13-year-old or someone in their 70's. With that said, respect is part of the TOS. If anyone feels a person's post is not being respectful please report it. Something for everyone to keep in mind. Before hitting that Submit button ask: Are you posting out of anger, frustration, or annoyance? Emotions can get the best of us at times. Sometimes changing the wording can make a big difference in how your post is perceived/accepted. Lastly, the only people that post that represent the whole of the site are the admin.

Nothing is ever complete. When a themed element like a TV is not working, the area is not complete. A wooden roller coaster is never complete, as many engineers have stated. As far as construction of an area, Area 72 may have all it will have as far as rides, restrooms and food facilities for now, but who are we to know what the park management will do with it in the future?

Likewise. I never understood how it’s become acceptable for grown adults to constantly pick on younger members on here. It’s embarrassing

I'm not with this guy.

I can't speak for him, but I think, from reading the posts, he just wants King's Island to finish what they started.

I don’t want to start anything, but this is an extremely rude response. With this response, it seems like YOU are trying to start something. If anything, @KIghostguy’s critique are just an example of how much he cares about Kings Island. He, like many of us, know that the park has the potential to be better than it is currently, and he was just giving constructive criticism. Kings Island has some theming among other things that they have let go in recent years. He was just calling the park out because he knows the park can do better and wants to see the park do better. I agree with him 100%. Also, people have different reasons to visit the park. Many go to ride rides, but a lot of people just go to walk around, take everything in, and watch a show. A lot of people only go to eat a meal. We don’t need to poke fun at people at reasons for visiting the park. Heck, @KIghostguy never said that he only went to Kings Island to look at theming. You just assumed that. Even if he did, so what?

So all you did was come on here to do some passive aggressive complaining? Seems like since you’ve been back from Hershey you’ve done nothing but pick Kings Island apart. Just do us all a favor and keep the complaining to yourself. Sincerely, Just About Everyone Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The park is named Kings Island, not Wachsland.