Jump to content

Ffej

Members
  • Posts

    105
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Ffej

  1. I was thinking the same thing. Why didn't they run this show through Halloween? I think it would have reached a far larger audience with its spooky theme and the fall crowds. I bet it would have even reached capacity for some shows. The energy of those final shows throughout the Halloween season would have really added to their event.
  2. I called Kings Island for further clarification on this mess. The representative was very kind and confident with her information. She said that the main Prestige+ Pass benefits only apply to the home park (Except the 15% discount). I told her that people were having success using their KI Prestige+ Pass benefits at Cedar Point, which she said was absolutely a mistake on CP's part. I also pointed out the guide on CP's website, where it specifically states that Prestige+ Passes will work as Gold at other Cedar Fair parks. She said that this is also a mistake, and that it should have definitely said that the Prestige+ Pass works as a Platinum Pass at all other Cedar Fair parks. So, now for those like myself that want the benefits at all Cedar Fair parks, will there be a Prestige++ Pass?
  3. Is this a mistake that their Prestige+ pass would only get you Gold benefits at other parks and not Platinum benefits, meaning Prestige+ is actually inferior to a Platinum Pass in ways? If it's true that only Prestige+ benefits apply to the home park and that it functions as a Gold Pass everywhere else, people that bought a KI Prestige+ pass could have been burned with no ERT at Cedar Point, since there is no longer ERT for Gold Passes there. I was so close to buying a KI Prestige+ Pass, but if what they're advertising is accurate now, my KI Platinum Pass is of more benefit, because I regularly use it for ERT at CP. Cedar Fair has really failed on this sloppy Prestige+ Pass launch. There has been so much uncertainty in its benefits. How are customers supposed to know what it offers when employees and even corporate doesn’t seem sure yet? A Prestige+ Pass should be universally a higher level than a Platinum pass for all their parks, and it should include Prestige+ benefits at all parks that have them available. For example, you should get a single-use FL+ at every CF park if they have a FL+ system. UPDATE: Kings Island customer service said that Prestige+ should work as a Platinum Pass at all other Cedar Fair parks, and that Gold was a mistake in this guide.
  4. Does anyone know if you get both a FL+ and an extra free BAF if you bought a Prestige+ Pass as a renewal at KI by 8/14?
  5. I'm really looking forward to your report, as I visit both these parks regularly.
  6. Do you get free bottled water and snacks using your Prestige+ pass in VIP? If so, what is available, and is there a limit on the number of snacks / drinks?
  7. This is not surprising that they'd add weekends to BAF. The crowds have been light this year so far. This seems to be the case at every park I've visited this year, excluding Universal / Disney, so I don't think it's anything KI is doing wrong. I think KI is doing an excellent job running the park this year actually; it's one of my favorite seasons so far.
  8. Yeah, I have a KI Platinum Pass. I've visited the park and other Cedar Fair parks enough and bought so much stuff that my reward should just be tossing the park keys to me at this point. But, I've never received any kind of reward. The last Pass Perks email I got was to buy a Sam's Club Membership for $45, which is the normal price.
  9. How was the turnout this year, considering the weather was much better than last year? I wish the park had communicated that the rides would be open until 11:30PM rather than the 10PM close posted on their website, but for the people that did go, I'm sure it was a nice bonus. I wanted to go, but it seemed like the event was marketed more to families this year, and I didn't know if there'd be enough for my friends and I in the last few hours. Does anyone know if the dining plans worked through 1AM and what time the park stopped serving alcohol?
  10. It definitely ran in the snow for awhile. I had an awesome ride while in heavy snow with giant flakes. It seemed the harder it snowed, the louder the cheers were in the station. However, I imagine there was a point where the snow was accumulating too quickly to keep the ride running safely. The park was just gorgeous last night in the snow, and it'll be a wonderful memory I'll never forget.
  11. Out of curiosity, has anyone spotted any wooden Kings Island ornaments? Kings Dominion had many for the park and their various rides, so I figured KI might have them somewhere. All I found at Kings Island were either plastic or the thin glass bulbs that tend to break over the years.
  12. I went to Winterfest last weekend, and I had a great time! Overall, I think the event keeps on improving. The lighting was the best the park has seen yet. Mystic Timbers still delivers every time and is as smooth as ever. Flight of Cheer was sorely missed, but hopefully it'll be back on the roster for next Winterfest. There were a few other things I missed this Winterfest over the past couple years: there was no eggnog & hot apple cider at Jack Frost's Liquid Libations, and the corn pudding at Smokehouse Christmas was absent on my visit. I ran into the beverage manager and let him know about the eggnog & hot apple cider, so maybe they'll return in the remaining weekends.
  13. Excluding the buffet, is there any new food to try on the dining plan vs the last 2 Winterfests? Or any new treats / drinks worth noting? I'm looking forward to visiting tomorrow!
  14. Yeah, I believe you that the igloos sold out at times, Ryan. Personally, the three times I went to Winterfest last year, I saw either none or 1 occupied throughout the night, so maybe it was hit or miss some nights. In the end, we both agree that the park is adjusting the pricing to hopefully make more money, as they should be doing.
  15. If the igloos were regularly selling out last year, the park would not decrease the price by more than 50% this year, regardless of guest feedback. Source: supply and demand.
  16. In regards to the Igloo Rentals: Note that the prices are $129-149 versus $299 last year. I'm not surprised to see the price cut after seeing low utilization last year. I think this will make them more appealing to some. That being said, if I'm understanding this correctly, the description of what's included with the rental seems deceptive, and I'd recommend the park change the wording. It states that: "Each reservation accommodates groups of 4 (up to 4 additional guests can be purchased) and includes VIP Seating at Select Shows, Refillable Souvenir Hot Chocolate Mugs, and Priority Access to Ice Skating, Carriage Ride and Cookie Decorating experiences.*" Upon first read, I thought, "Wow, that's actually a good deal now when you add the cost of hot chocolate mugs and priority access ice skating, carriage ride, and cookie decorating experiences for 4." Then, I noticed the asterisk: "Priority Access provided upon purchase of additional experiences." I could see this misleading some guests, especially when these additional experiences were included in last year's igloo rental. If they're really only including priority access upon purchase of the additional experiences, drop the asterisk, and word it like this: "Each reservation accommodates groups of 4 (up to 4 additional guests can be purchased) and includes VIP Seating at Select Shows, Refillable Souvenir Hot Chocolate Mugs, and Priority Access upon the additional purchase of any Ice Skating, Carriage Ride, or Cookie Decorating experience."
  17. CoastersRZ, When I said that old incarnations of Winterfest ultimately failed, I did not mean that they were poor or unpopular events. I just meant that the event was canceled from 1993-2004 (12 years) and from 2006-2016 (11 years). If Winterfest in 1992 or 2005 was an extremely profitable and significant part of the overall business, more effort would have been made to bring it back sooner, regardless of the change in ownership. From everything I’ve seen and read, I’m in total agreement that the current version of Winterfest is the best the park has ever seen, and I’m fortunate to get to experience this era. I think Cedar Fair has implemented a lot of changes that will make this a viable event for many years to come.
  18. I'm very glad that Mystic Timbers is open. Here's the thing though: I don't have young kids, I can't do spinning flat rides, and my local zoo (Toledo) offers beautiful Christmas lights, a Christmas train, carousel, bumper cars, and ice slides + bonus animals. I could drive 10 minutes there or about 3 hours to Kings Island. This is one of the reasons why I feel the old incarnation of Winterfest failed. With few rides running back then, people had local zoos and events nearby that provided much of the same experience for a lower price and lower amount of commitment / effort getting there. Mystic Timbers & Flight of Cheer were the big draws for me personally. They provided high-thrill rides that couldn't be had anywhere else nearby during November & December. Once drawn in, I fell in love with seeing the park in a different season and discovering how much more there was to do other than the coasters. That being said, getting a coaster ride in November / December is still a huge draw for me, and I loved having Flight of Cheer as an addition or backup in case Mystic Timbers was down. I understand why it's closed, but getting to ride Racer or another coaster in its place would have definitely provided some extra excitement for Winterfest 2019.
  19. If Flight of Cheer is really closed for Orion construction, I'm surprised that Racer isn't replacing it as a secondary coaster for the season. Racer looks like the perfect Christmas coaster and would work so well in that retro Christmas portion of Winterfest: it's painted white like snow and has an adaptable lighting package for red and green. It is capable of running in lower operating temperatures than many of the coasters. It's also highly adaptable for crowds. There will inevitably be that really nice weather day during Winterfest where the park is slammed and extra capacity is needed: move to 4 trains. On the other end, the weather may leave the park pretty dead some days: move to 2 trains or even 1. With extra attention on it running, it'd provide plenty of beautiful Christmas photos shared to social media, which is free advertising for the park. Did I mention Racer 75 is one of the coasters that runs at Kings Dominion? I realize Winterfest is primarily about the atmosphere and entertainment aspects, and I appreciate that. But, the rides and coasters are a huge asset KI has that many other local Christmas events don't have.
  20. Yes, Canada's Wonderland still has an Express line for dining plans at select locations; I was there Sunday & Monday and used them. Oddly, the park was absolutely slammed on Sunday, and hardly anyone was in the Express lines for dining plans. We're talking probably 30+ minutes for the regular line, and less than 5 minutes for the dining plan line. Either people were confused by the Express Dining Plan line and not using them, fewer guests have dining plans there, I just hit the right time, or the system was working...or a combo of those variables. Regardless, it was awesome and felt like having Fast Lane for food.
  21. I notice on the Kings Island website that Panda Express has changed back to 2 entrees. Can anyone confirm this was the case in the park? Panda Express Two Entrées Bowl & Side
  22. I know it's still early, but I hope the park straightens and anchors those umbrella tables so that they have symmetrical spacing on both sides. Otherwise, there are some great improvements, and by the time I'm able to visit in a couple weeks, I'm sure I'll get to see an even better version (especially once flowers / shrubs are planted).
  23. As excited as I am to have Flight of Fear on the lineup this year, wouldn't Flight of Cheer have been a little more appropriate? Considering Flight of Fear is in a dark box, it wouldn't be very difficult to add some colorful LED's & a holiday soundtrack that could be turned on or off with the season. Bonus points if you were boarding Santa's sleigh for a trip to the North Pole. Similar thoughts on Mystic Timbers & Boo Blasters. I know the budget and time is limited, but I can't imagine it'd be too much effort to swap Santa out for a Bat creature on some digital media. I think small changes like these would really excite a lot of people, especially children. This would also give guests more reasons to visit the park multiple times in a year to experience their favorite rides in new ways.
  24. Yes, Malem's question is an important one that I'd love to see Don answer. I have a group of friends planning on going. We all renewed our Platinum Passes by the Nov. 5th deadline, so it sounds like we should be good to go. But we have various home parks, and they were renewed in various ways. Some renewed online using the payment plan, some renewed at Cedar Point with KI as the home park, and one renewed at KI though their pass was changed to Carowinds as the home park because of the pass not working. Lastly, I need to reiterate that the Platinum pass home park conflicts are ridiculous. I can't believe I've been hearing of and experiencing issues with home parks year after year. I've never experienced an issue with a Six Flags multi-park pass not working. Yet when visiting about 10 Cedar Fair parks last year, some of us had to get Platinum Passes reissued and home parks changed 4 times to get them to work properly, especially with the Platinum dining plan. It's so disappointing that Cedar Fair isn't taking strong action to correct this. It makes us anxious every scan of a Platinum or dining plan, wondering if it'll work at a different Cedar Fair park.
  25. I renewed by the deadline, so I should be able to attend. But, what prevents new pass holders or late renewals from entering? I doubt KI built in park-specific code to reject non-qualifying pass scans for this 5-hour event. So, this exclusive event is basically on an honor system, correct? Does anyone here know of anyone that was unable to enter the preview night with their pass last year because they weren't renewals or because they missed the renewal deadline? Judging by the crowds that built at the preview night last year, I had trouble believing that everyone was a deadline renewal pass holder. I mean, I was just happy to be there and had a great time, but I was curious how or if they were really checking renewal criteria.
×
×
  • Create New...