FUN&ONLY!

Kings Island feels really crowded today, and the parking lot backs that up. However, lines for the major rides and and food really are kind of short for a Saturday. It is very interesting.

Nice catch, but since it was gray, my guess is that it probably won’t be for a new coaster. I guess it could be for a new water slide, but it is probably for utility work whatever that may be. Also, for major capital projects like water slides and rollercoasters, pieces like supports usually don’t arrive onsite until after the attractions have been announced.

Tuesday was as busy as a Saturday. Ride operations seemed to be great, but food and beverage appeared slightly understaffed. However, with the crowds, everything had a fairly long line even with good operations. It could have been busier, though, because the forecast for the next couple of days was not too great.

I wouldn’t say the chains are going in completely opposite directions. You cannot really compare Dollywood and Kings Island. Dollywood is a full fledged resort while Kings Island is a regional park. Dollywood and Silver Dollar City just pull from different audiences compared to Kings Island and most Cedar Fair parks. Parks like Knott’s Berry Farm and Cedar Point are more like resorts compared to the rest of the Cedar Fair parks. Unfortunately, Cedar Point is experiencing operational problems compared to most other parks, but Cedar Fair cannot really control that with Cedar Point’s location. I am concerned about future investment in the chain, but Cedar Fair has probably been affected way more by the pandemic than Herschend has. I also don’t agree that the Hershend chain as a whole is going in an opposite direction from Cedar Fair. Kentucky Kingdom is way cheaper than most Cedar Fair parks, and the park really does give away the gate. It’s really just Dollywood and Silver Dollar City that are more premium than most Cedar Fair parks, and that is due to them being resorts. Also, Cedar Fair has made some commendable efforts into making their parks higher quality. At Kings Island, landscaping has improved greatly recently, International Street has been renovated, and areas of the park have been spruced up.

Timberwolf is a different story because it cannot really be seen from the rest of park, but I think that old and unused attractions and buildings should be removed from Kings Island. Even if they are used for Halloween Haunt, buildings like KillMart (though the recent paint job helps) the Son of Beast station, and The Crypt building are eyesores. Walking around the park, it isn’t necessarily nice to see old abandoned buildings up along the midways. Outside of Halloween Haunt, these buildings don’t serve any purpose except looking bad. Six Flags does this a lot. They will close rides, but they will keep the rides just sitting there. I understand that some of Kings Island’s unused buildings are prime locations for future attractions (like The Crypt building), and I am all for new rides and attractions going in there if they can make the exteriors look nice and not just leave the buildings sitting there.

I just realized that. It is kind of strange that they are scheduling it for only Wednesdays, but I guess Kings Island wants people to come out on historically lower attendance days. Also, the Chef’s Plate likely isn’t that profitable because the majority of people buying it are probably passholders who get it with the All-Season Dining Plan.

That is nice to hear!

I think Soak City will be closed, but Kings Island will probably at least open. How long Kings Island stays open depends on how many people are there. I also think Chef’s Plate will be a no go again.

I wouldn’t mind it! LOL! At this point, I don’t think it is going to Kings Island, but I really have no clue as to where it’s going. I am not really sure it will be going to Cedar Point. The chance it’s going to Kings Island is low, but I don’t really know any other park that has a higher chance of getting it at this point. Time will tell. I agree with this. I feel like Kings Island could bring back something like Phantom Theater or Der Spinning Keggars. Both Cedar Point and Knott’s Berry Farm returned new versions of old rides for their most recent anniversaries.

I think if passholders renew will also depend on what Kings Island adds for 2022. An anniversary celebration would be nice, but there has to be something to it like a new ride or experience. Kings Island can’t just ride on Orion for three seasons. They need to keep the park fresh with new rides and other attractions.

Camp Cedar is not open yet, but Kings Island is hiring for it.

I agree Cedar Fair should have prepared better. I remember at the beginning of the year, Kings Island said they were hiring for over 4,000 positions, and I was surprised because in a normal year, Kings Island hires for 5,000 positions. This year Kings Island also has to staff Camp Cedar, so they should have been hiring for more than 5,000 positions. Some games at the park, specifically the basketball shooting games, are not even ready to open if there was more staff. Cedar Fair definitely did not plan to operate like they do in a normal year, and I think they are probably regretting their decision now. Kings Island would have had a much easier time hiring if they started offering more positions in January, especially if they announced that pay would be $15 minimum.

To be fair, Kings Island was probably not expecting the attendance they have been getting so far this year, so they probably opted to save some money. It will be interesting to see if more entertainment options are introduced at Halloween Haunt or WinterFest. I really do like the idea of live shows on International Street, in Rivertown, and in Oktoberfest at the Biergarten, but I do understand the concern about potential bottleneck situations. For the Rivertown and Oktoberfest shows, Kings Island could tell all guests wanting to watch the show to sit at the tables and chairs in the area or at least stand within the perimeter of the tables and chairs to prevent at least some of the midway blocking and congestion.

I agree that the location it is could create too much congestion. I guess Kings Island security will be busy ejecting people from the park for blocking midways. LOL!

I am happy to report that much more theming has been added to the stage in Rivertown. An old car is now parked next to the stage, and there are wood pallets behind the stage. There also seem to be other props, but everything is covered. It looks pretty nice.

Isn’t that where that big hammer game used to be?

Kings Island can’t really do much to add seating to the bandstand with its location in the park. It would be nice to see an International Showplace renovation, however, because it is very dated in my opinion.

I like how Kings Island has synced up The Racer and Orion with the Royal Finale too. I also noticed the lighting on the trees in Coney Mall are synced up with the show, but I am not sure about the lighting on the other trees in the park. I agree that the song choice is not my favorite out of the ones they have had in the past, but the show itself is the best it’s ever been in my opinion.

I really hope Carowinds can speed up their operations. Those dispatches seem really bad. In terms of Six Flags, they usually minimally staff their rides while Kings Island has like 8 people working a ride at any one time including this year. Six Flags has done a good job keeping their parks open, but they are also facing staffing issues. Also, while I know a lot of enthusiasts were fans of this because of light crowds, in order to get night rides at many Six Flags parks, you had to attend Coaster Power Hours which was an up-charge. During these events. I heard many food stands were closed. The actual operating hours had the parks closing earlier. I don’t know about others, but I think it would be a bad look if Kings Island started charging extra to be there for the last two hours of the day.

The problem with operating at those kind is staffing levels is that people just won’t have a good time. Carowinds was probably less crowded when you visited than Kings Island, so it may have been enjoyable. We have seen guests complain of Kings Island and Cedar Point staffing issues, and at least both parks are trying to correct these problems. Kings Island probably had to cut hours because the employees they have cannot work more than a certain number of hours in a week due to labor laws. Now that weekday operations have started, they cannot have all workers work long days everyday like they would have been able to the first few weekends of operation. Cedar Point was probably short many more employees, so they had to actually cut operating days and hours to prevent the employees they had from working too many hours once weekday operations began. Also, can an arrow mine train actually operate with only two employees? I believe you, but I have never seen only one employee checking restraints.

From what I saw, the stage was literally just a small pad on the ground. It wasn’t anything special. I really didn’t look very closely at it because it was cold and rainy, but I saw it as I walked by. I could be wrong that it is for the show, but I don’t know what else the pad could be for. I really hope it’s not final because Carowinds’ Busker Jam looks really nice, and that would work really well in Rivertown.

I noticed a stage set up next to Rivertown Funnel Cakes today where the tables are (on the side closer to Mystic Timbers). I assume that is where Busker Jam will be performed. The stage isn’t really themed or anything like the Carowinds version of the show.

I think Kings Island moved workers from the food stands to security! LOL! But in a seriousness, I can confirm that there was a major increase in security. There were many security guards throughout the park, and there were also a lot of police cars around.

I am confused on the wording. Does Kings Island have 900 positions still available or are there 900 positions total that are getting $18 an hour including the ones that have already been filled? I am glad Kings Island is trying to address staffing issues, but I worry we may not see major capital investment for years.

I wonder the most about the line jumpers. I have seen Kings Island throw line jumpers out of line when they are reported in the station, but I have never seen line jumpers ejected from the park. To be honest, many times it is just a few kids joining the rest of their party and not even realizing it is line jumping. I do hope the park enforces these policies though.