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  1. As soon as I seen this picture pop on Facebook earlier today I said it would make a perfect trail for Halloween and some house stops could be incorporated into the area too. Then realized it would also make a great holiday light trail walk through and like other haunt attractions could be left up making the transition quicker in the Fall to Winterfest. They could sell hot chocolate and warm snacks back there since people would be cold, heck have a fire pit storytelling area back there. Really lots of possibilities with a ready made trail.  If they ever decide to add a coaster in the area it wouldn’t interfere that much it’s a trail. 

    • Like 5
    • Thanks 1
  2. Thanks. For the assist Ryan and the mention Interpreter, I miss all the fun here but building Avatar Land has been far more time consuming than what I thought it would be. Speaking of running I will be running the full Chicago Marathon on October 12thin a little over two weeks. I will once again be running as a team member of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I am a bit proud that in two years time I have accomplished a lot physically but more than that I have raised $17,737.00 for cancer research.

    The family is driving me crazy wanting to get to the park ASAP. Hope to see you all real soon here or there!

    • Like 13
  3. Thanks the Kidd for the vote and yes I defiantly know my way around Disney World Parks and resorts. My latest visits have been more in the way of in and out (few days) visits due to running events and such. I do recommend RailRider as he has been going a lot lately with his little one and is most up to date. I know he sees the value of preplanning to get the best value and family time.

    • Like 3
  4. Over the years we have enjoyed shopping at Kings Island and picked things up along the way but more so several years back like King Cobra years back. The shoppes had unique items and didn't have the parks name placed on it. I must be honest there is nothing in my living room with any park name on it. Oh we do have several items we have bought at different parks as a reminder of a of a day filled with family fun but it may have been a simple bird house bought at Kings Island.

    Recently it seems that most items are sold with Kings Island name on it and I can't remember buying anything like that in a long time. I understand they must sell a lot of it or they would quit doing that. Our most recent trip my wife wanted to go to Girl Space shop on International Street because they often sold trending cloths without the parks name on it. Well she was very disappointed to find it was now stocked with clothing that you could find at the other shops in the park and yes the parks name was on it. For me I acted disappointed in front of her but honestly I was smiling knowing I was going to save money this year.

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  5. Depends on how you use the word "expansion" it certainly a crowd issue to include safety as well. There were curbs along the street that you had to step up to to get into many of the shops. If you look at LaRosa's you will see the tables tucked into the trees close to the shop itself. Obviously it was very crowded and cramped during busy times getting in and out of the shops a busy street with curbs and guests made for a unsafe atmosphere. How can they rearrange the area to expand upon the greater good of the guests needs and a safer environment. Move the trees to the other side and expand the seating area greatly take out the curbs to expand the street right up to the building for an easy entrance and exit. So yes you are technically right but they did expand much needed areas by rearranging the area.

    • Like 5
  6. In the second picture everything is included except the alcohol products which no park that I know of does that. On second thought Disney does offer a bottle of wine with your meal if one chooses to upgrade their package.

    The Disney Dinning Plan and almost all who have used it will tell you it is easy to use and understand. If when ording a counter service meal and it is hard to let them know what your side choice is like a side salad, fries, coleslaw, or fruit then I can accept from that person that it is hard. Keep in mind when comparing you get desert and a drink included for the price, oh and let's not forget you get snacks included in that plan as well. I am just talking about the counter service plan as that would be the only thing we can in anyway compare to Kings Island. The table service is awesome and not one restaurant we have eaten at has limited the menus to us and we have dinned at more of the Disney restaurants than we have not.

    I love that Kings Island now has a dining plan and we will certainly enjoy our visits more but in no way does it compete to a Disney Plan in choices not even close.

    • Like 4
  7. If you do go make sure you take your swim attire if that part of the park is open as they have an excellent water park with a large variety of slides. It is always good to see how others do it when comparing with other parks. In my option the trip is worth it for you just to see how it has aged first hand.

    • Like 2
  8. While I skimmed through this topic, I would like to point out that people complain about the $45 admission price, they certainly would not like the prices of the Florida parks.

    $90 for Busch Gardens or SeaWorld or a single park at Universal. (all 4 charge for their Q-Bots)

    $100 at WDW per park unless you get a Park Hopper Pass.

    Kings Island and Cedar Point should charge a lot more for admission than they do.

    Fast Lane, Fast Pass, Flash Pass, etc are optional, not a requirement to enjoy the park. There is also a lot more than just rides at the park. Just walk around and check things out. There were times I went in 2013 and didn't ride anything, but still had an absolute blast.

    Shhhhh, dont give them any ideas.

    Actually as one who has visited all these parks mentioned several times I can tell you when you add it all up as a whole they all cost about the same. Cedar Fair seems to run on a model of get them in the gate with affordable admissions and then up charge for food, attractions, lockers, Fast Lane, $4.29 Cokes and such. I am not dissing Cedar Fair just saying in the end they all cost the same. I can't imagine guest paying $90 to get in to Kings Island especially the bus groups.

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  9. Very happy to see Kings Island getting the job and confidence to do it. I admit I am surprised that if it was being controlled from one location that California park didn't get it. Resources and the pool of talent to pull that off is pretty good out there.

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  10. My first big job out of High School I was a bank teller. A couple months in but still under the 90 day probationary period I accidentally gave a older gentlemen an extra $100. That evening when we balanced out I of course was short. We called the operation center to see if the work we sent in had an error and there wasn't, the branch manager had to count my drawer with another teller and I knew if it was short I would be fired. As they were about half way through we heard a tap on the front door and there was the older gentleman I gave the extra money to, he explained when he got home and contend his money he knew I made a mistake and knew I was new (in the 80's everything wasn't so electronic and we seen our customers regularly) so he drove back to try to catch us before we left. The manager was very nice about it but told me I was a very lucky young man and hope I understood fully what that gentlemen did for me.

    I was happy to still have a job with benefits and I knew that mans honesty is what saved me. I admired him for his character and vowed that I would try to earn that kind of character for myself because I knew somebody was going to appreciate the honesty more than I could ever appreciate someone else's error. Since then I am convinced Karma has given back in a bigger way. I am glad I learned that one early in life.

    True Story.

    • Like 14
  11. There is no difference between riding one of the Fastlane rides getting off then handing the wrist pass to a friend to ride next and doing so several times through out the day as to using the Fastlane pass for a period of time going out the gate and handing to someone or selling it to a friend or stranger. The moment they used it it IS stealing plain and simple.

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  12. At this time yes you are correct one with valid Gold Pass can pay the difference between the Standard parking rate and the Preferred parking rate that is posted for that date. I have done this for many years to include my last visit this past Saturday.

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  13. The policy Kings Island is saying right now during a purchase of the Season Long Dinning is that the meals do NOT include drinks with the meals. I understand there is confusion as they are rolling out the Dining Plans so if some have/are give out drinks with the meals then the guest got a freebie according to the written policy and what is being disclosed right now at the time of purchase. As not to confuse guests or those who are thinking about buying the plan we need not add to the confusion. Just because some have we need to recognize that it was an error on that locations part in contrast to what the policy is right now as we know it.

    Those who are considering the plan should check with the park for official policy and not by what is discussed here.

    • Like 5
  14. I think most of us understand that this is new and changes will most likely be made as they evaluate what works in a variety of ways. I think constructive posts about how it works for you or the family can actually be helpful. Also if one has suggestions on what you would like to see added in offerings may be helpful as well. As long as it is constructive I see no problems sharing our thoughts here or that one may make suggestions straight to the park.

    For my family we feel it is a great value. We are hopping they add more side item choices for a more balanced meal as in salad or fruit, in fact we would love to see more dinner salad choices available especially at the Chicken Shack and at Coconut Grove Caf'e.

    • Like 6
  15. Let me say this I was up on the loading platform getting off Banshee and just spoken to a supervisor of said coster about my ride experence and thoughts. As we walked to the stairs there was a loud noise and in my opinion made a biit louder because it echoed off the station interior walls. I could see what the issue was and was not concerned but knew it was going to be a maintence issue. The ride opps in the station were directing oncoming riders and those still exiting to in fact exit with and in position to point to the exit. Everything I seen went very professional and I was not worried or overlly concerned the guests (myself included) followed the instructions and exited the station area relatively quite orderly fashion. I have seen wildly exagerated recounts from others which is a shame and wonder way the need to do that. Kings Island has a wonderful new ride in Banshee and doesn't need exagerated negative press when they are trying to promote their new ride. As one who has no connection to the park other than being a guest with a season pass and seeing this situation first hand this is honesttly a non story other than a maintience issue that needed addressed like all rides do over time.

    • Like 14
  16. The family and I went to Kings Island for our first visit yesterday and being big fans of the Disney Dinning Plan over the years we were excited to purchase and see various dinning plans showing up at Kings Island. Sure as we hope we save money over the year but the big selling point for us is connivence and I have no doubt we will spend more in the park when it is all said and done with any savings we may earn by having more pocket cash from lack of cash to be spent on meals in future visits.

    So yesterday was day one, in a nut shell we are pleased with how it worked and excited to know how the plan will work for us especially knowing we no longer have to meet up for meals or anticipate cash to send with family members if we know they will be away during meal times. We could tell the program is new and that possible changes will occur and honestly I hope the park does make some adjustments in their offerings as they see will work in their plan as the plans roll out and possibly offer season long drinks with or even without the meals as an up-charge.

    We were not offered the cole slaw with a couple meals my family got even after I requested something different than fries and now after reading over the list we should received coleslaw with a couple of our meals. We wish there was a bit more flexibility especially if there is an item like fries that one of us does not care for do to diet restrictions. At the Chicken Shack they offer a salad which I really would have enjoyed due to my diet desires and to have a lighter more balanced meal. The thing is it was a cheeper meal than what they offer with other meals but it was not available as an option for the season long plan. I wish there were more healthier options available or at least one per location. I could see if it was more expensive but in many cases they are not. We would have enjoyed having a menu over to the side that we could have looked at as we entered each location for a meal as we are new to this as well and find ourselves having to ask as we order what we can have and feel guilty to hold up the line as they explain what we can have and make our decision on the fly. In some cases the employees had to double check to make sure what they were telling us was in fact correct. In our opinion the La Rosa Pizza was not of good value or a choice unless we wanted a lighter meal. They offered 2 slices of pizza but to be honest those slices are very small and together could be counted as a single slice from other pizza places we go to that sell by the slice, in addition we get to bread sticks with dipping sauce if they have it (we were told they were out at the time we went at the International Street location). We hope they adjust the offering at La Rosa's to include a small side salad or at least offer the side salad as an option over the bread sticks, too much bread in one serving for me.

    In closing when we look down the list of meal offerings at various locations we do notice better nutritional options are left off and we sincerely hope they work to include more of those choices or options in the future as we hope they adjust. We absolutely love having a dinning plan as an option as it works for our lifestyle so we are very happy to have this now at Kings Island and can see us purchasing a plan year after year as long as they offer it. The daily plan for us is not ideal for us as it forces us to have more cash on hand with every visit versus a high one time at the beginning of the year. We enjoyed the plan and if everything stays the way it is now we will still be happy and feel it is a good choice for us but honestly it does need tweaked a bit going forward to include a few better side options and to have a few more healthier meals available rom a few locations.

    • Like 10
  17. JC please keep in mind that enthusiast especially KI enthusiast are a small minority to the overall attendance over the season. I agree I may tire in seeing it sitting in front of the tower long before the once a year guest has an opportunity to see it and those are the people they are trying to reach out to. It may be more than marketing and I don't know anything but it could be about food contracts.

    I wish International Street got a big make over one of these years, basically redo the front gate, side buildings to house more restaurants, specialty shops but keep the Royal Fountains in place but with a much needed make over of water feature and lights. I know it is me but I wish at minimum that half the trees get removed.

    • Like 9
  18. I agree with the shots towards the end of the sunrise is stunning. my favorite is the one with the flame as there is tons of metal everywhere, really creepy in a good way. I also like how the camera did move during several of the shots it really added dimension. Impressed!

    • Like 4
  19. Reading through this topic with special interest. I can see how some would take advantage of an season long one price meal offerings and honestly I can see enthusiast who do visit the park more are more able to take advantage of it more than most other season pass guests. So in a way I think reading through this thread could offer a unbalanced foresight on who benefits from a season long dinning experience and maybe the average season park holder a everyday meal enthusiast and the park all end up benefiting from such a offering.

    Here is how my family may be able to use it and we are far from weekly visitors so maybe it can be of some insight from another point of view.
    My family and I live about two hours away from Kings Island and our visits can range from 3 to 12 visits per year. A trip over with my van would cost us about $46.00 per trip in gas alone and then we would have to budget an additional $80 to $100 for food and snacks. I will admit there have been times we have elected to stay home due to the cost of food and transportation to make a singe visit. Other times we agreed to save money that we would make the trip over but that we eat before entering, eating a late lunch off property. Sometimes we enjoyed the time away from the park for lunch as it gave us a quieter lunch and some time away from the loud noises, none the less it always seems to be a hassle trying to coordinate a time and meet up location.

    Having the opportunity to pre purchase a season long meal plan for the family is something we feel may benefit us not solely for the money savings but more as an opportunity to say hey let's go to Kings Island today/tomorrow knowing we really just need gas money and a few bucks for other purchases such as snacks, pictures or merchandise. Basically I can see us taking many more impromptu visit to Kings Island, if even to just relax for a afternoon at Soak City. See if I went to a local pool destination closer to home it would cost me admission and food which would most likely be more than our now cost $46 to go to Kings Island for the day. Not sure from here if it will be a savings for us but I can guarantee it will be a huge convenience factor which will result in more visits from us. As the person who does the family budget I really like the opportunity to have this expense taken care of early on versus worrying about the cost on each visit, that is worth something in of itself.

    So that's it from another point of view and a way it can help others on a budget or who live a bit further from Kings Island.

    • Like 11
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