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malem

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Posts posted by malem

  1. 1 hour ago, disco2000 said:

    Travel advisory requiring 14 day self quarantine for states with positivity rate exceeding 15%.

    The advisory recommending a 14 day quarantine currently affects travel from Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arizona, Nevada and Idaho.

    While it's only a recommendation at this time, it will certainly impact travel plans to the Ohio parks and for Ohioans wanting to visit open parks in those states.

  2. 2 hours ago, RMCRacer2022 said:

    Maybe I went in looking for the negatives, but I will say I was paying a lot of attention to everyone walking by at all times because I was truly curious given what everyone was saying here. It was definitely better for the first hour we were there in terms of masks (we had the 10:30 slot), but right from the get go people were lined up back to back waiting for Banshee to open with everyone bunching on the stairs when it did open. In general, the Fast Lane queue made me nervous because in many cases you were literally right next to the people in the regular queue with no barriers. I will say that the majority of people who did have their masks off were doing so in a place that wasn’t crowded. For example, we sat in the Skyline pavilion at lunch and the majority of these no mask instances happened on the pathway behind it and in between the Stunt Coaster, and they did put them on or pull them up when approaching the rides. However, in terms of social distancing, I never (honestly never) saw it not bunched up as you got closer to getting onto a ride. Adventure Express was especially bad with people sitting on the railings throughout the entire queue right next to each other. The poor guy at the front was doing his best to tell people to put their masks over their noses and to space out, but he also had to load the trains. The mask usage just got worse as the day went on especially given the heat.

    Now, the good things I saw were that employees at loading were asking people to put on masks and pull them over their noses. I did see people keep them on during the rides themselves. I did see several parents doing an excellent job of teaching their children to sanitize and wear their masks properly. I also was aware of all the announcements that were made about social distancing and mask usage (as well as signage). I also saw the cleaning procedures on trains and they were very thorough (although I’m curious as to why they don’t run the train empty after sanitizing to let it dry/work as most of those products have to sit for a minute or so).
     

    I just think that enforcement needs to be more consistent throughout the park. I had seen on here where there were employees specifically in the queues to enforce distancing and sanitize, but we never saw an instance of that (and granted lines were very short all day). We saw several supervisors walking around the park itself with clipboards, but I rarely saw them address any guests. We just felt that it was getting more unsafe as the day went on unfortunately. 

    It's impossible to control every individual's behavior in a public setting, but I feel good about the layered approach Cedar Fair and other major park companies are taking with masks, distancing, cleaning, enforcement, & limiting indoor activities.

    With Fast Lane, the floor stickers are configured so that people in the two lines aren't waiting side-by-side. When people stand as instructed, they shouldn't be within 6' of another group. In some queues, there are long gaps between stickers to accomplish this.

    On my visits, employees have come through the line periodically to sanitize queue rails and correct guests who aren't following health protocols.

    • Like 1
  3. I have seen very good compliance with masks and distancing so far. In ride lines on Friday, I saw several people reminded either by an associate to keep their face fully covered and/or to stay on the social distancing markers. I wasn't there today, but 30% of people not wearing masks isn't at all consistent with what I've seen at Kings Island this year.

    • Like 2
  4. While this forum is an escape for many, it's also a place to find different perspectives on the issues facing the park industry and beyond. COVID-19 is arguably the biggest single event to ever impact the industry.

    Constructive dialog and mutual respect make KIC what it is, even in this age of polarization.

    1 hour ago, gad198 said:
    • Why is Sweden, who imposed no lockdown nor mandatory mask requirements (less than 10% mask usage there), seeing both their case and mortality numbers consistently go down? Source

    The Swedish model relied on herd immunity, supported by a relatively low population density and excellent access to healthcare. They got control of the virus, but at a high human cost. The cost of this strategy in the US would likely be much higher.

     

    1 hour ago, gad198 said:

    Why is it that despite that huge increase in US cases - 3 times as many cases today as compared to two months ago - that the daily average number of deaths has gone down during that time? Source

    There are indeed some encouraging signs that COVID infections may becoming less lethal. Whether this is due to a younger demographic getting infected, partial herd immunity to the virus, better treatment protocols, or other factors is not yet known. As KDD and others have noted above, there are potential long-term health implications to consider among survivors.

    Those who have recently been infected haven't progressed through the disease yet. We shouldn't wait for death numbers and ICU numbers to spike before responding to earlier indicators.

    1 hour ago, gad198 said:

    Regarding New Zealand, they still haven't opened their borders yet.  They'll have to eventually if they want to keep their economy afloat given how dependent they are on tourism.  What do you think is going to happen when they reopen their borders?

    You raise a good point. If the virus is spreading unchecked anywhere, it's a problem everywhere.

    Opening borders will require testing and contact tracing. You're right that we can't contact trace 65k people/day - that becomes more important once the virus is controlled by physical and/or immunological means.

    • Like 3
  5. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are now requiring Ohioans to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.

    https://www.dispatch.com/news/20200714/new-york-2-other-states-say-visitors-from-ohio-must-quarantine-for-14-days

     

    5 hours ago, alsoran said:

    This has nothing to do with Trump people, this was local.  No names, as I don't know names, just know that it was local.  I am not a political supporter, I am an American, nit donkey or elephant.

    There's a lot of misleading and false information going around, unfortunately. A localized, significant increase in the percentage of tests coming back positive (like we've seen in many states) isn't due to errors inherent in testing. This metric is important for understanding how and where the virus is spreading so that it can be controlled.

    Recent studies on T-cell COVID-19 immunity have indicated that immunity among the population might be higher than antibody tests indicate. This is almost certainly very good news.

    However, uncontrolled spread in the community is still dangerous even if immunity is further along than we thought. We don't yet know how many of those among the recent spike in cases will die or suffer long-term health consequences. We do know how to slow the spread: face coverings, social distancing, limiting large gatherings, and good hand hygiene.

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 2
  6. Unfortunately, even enthusiasts sometimes fail to properly secure loose articles in their cargo pockets before riding. The pouches were a good solution because the ride operators could verify that they were closed, but they did slow dispatches. Getting rid of them for the time being was the right call to keep capacity up and reduce touchpoints amid the pandemic.

    Hopefully we see pouches return once the pandemic is over.

  7. As of July 4, the loaded pulled pork fries were listed on the menu board with the dining plan symbol, and I was able to order them.

    IMG_20200704_190759.jpg

    I'm not the biggest fan of cheese sauce, but they were good! The pulled pork is very similar to what's at Coney Barbecue, and RPW fries go along great.

    • Like 6
  8. 3 hours ago, jimlaheyscar said:

    Get whatever reservation is available.  Show up around 10:15 am, park, and go inside the park.  Make your way to Orion.  Get in line or get a card.  Done.  You're making this too hard.  Reservations times don't really mean anything.  Plenty of people have gone in before their slot.

    This is not accurate; guests have been asked to return to their car and wait until shortly before their reservation time before entering.

    If ticket distribution goes like it did over Opening Weekend, you should be able to enter the park at noon and still get an Orion ticket for later in the afternoon or evening.

    • Like 1
    • Thanks 1
  9. 10 minutes ago, chuck norris said:


    Opening day at KI was a mess too. They didn’t have the ticket system for Orion implemented yet.

    Holding off until the second day was almost certainly a deliberate decision rather than tickets not being ready.

    A long line for the new coaster on Opening Day is the expectation, and a regular line ensured everyone at the park that day had the chance to ride if they were willing to wait.

  10. If I'm exposed to the virus, isolating myself for 14 days or until I can get a test is a small price to pay to not spread the virus further.

    Just now, disco2000 said:

    I would assume in this instance the subpoena would be to obtain the data related to one's mobile device, which more than likely has a history of where someone has been...pings off cellular towers, etc. as that is the only true way to contact trace...  Most people are not going to remember where they were at 2:45 last Thursday or whatnot.  The ability to create after the fact a "diary" of where one has been when and where based on memory will certainly not be very reliable.

    Android phones with Google Maps store your location history for future reference if this feature is enabled, but it's not stored often enough to identify who you were in close contact with. Mobile networks also store data about which towers were connected to, but it's not detailed enough to identify precise locations.

    Unless you're in a society like China where everyone is tracked all the time, contact tracing generally relies on voluntary compliance.

  11. Since face coverings are here to stay at Kings Island, we should have a thread to discuss which types of coverings work best and where to find them.

    As I mentioned in the Coronavirus thread, I bought a few of these $4 packages of cloth masks from Target, which worked well for me at Kings Island over the weekend. They tend to move around when breathing heavily, but I liked that they didn't tug too hard on my ears while staying secure on my face. I'd recommend the adult small/medium size; the large/XL masks are very big.

    IMG_20200703_102824.jpg

     

    What has everyone else found success with?

     

    • Like 2
  12. The steps to access the reservation portal are somewhat convoluted:

    1. Visit the Kings Island online store and go to Menu->Order Lookup
    2. Type your e-mail address and phone number to look up your order
    3. Click the order that contains the reservation you want to change
    4. Press "View your receipt"
    5. In the receipt window/tab that pops up, click the blue link above your reservation time(s) labeled "Manage Reservation"
    6. The online store opens up with options to reschedule your reservation

    The reservation portal currently doesn't allow you to cancel a reservation outright, but you can change it as many times as you want to.

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1
  13. For processing season passes, that can be done online this season. From the Welcoming You Back FAQ:

    Quote

     

    As a new passholder without a Season Pass card, you will need to process your Season Pass. To make this easier and contact-free, you can now handle this online.

    Simply create or login to your Kings Island website account, click “Manage Passes”, click “ADD MY PASS” and enter the Ticket ID you received when you purchased online along with any other outstanding profile information. Once you’ve completed adding your pass, you’re all set to visit. You can even add your pass to the mobile app for quick and convenient entry into the park.

     

     

     

    • Like 3
  14. The guest experience with ride tickets is much better than waiting in a 2+ hour queue amid reduced capacity.

    On Saturday, most guests had a minimal wait when they showed up for their return time. We returned toward the end of our return timeslot and waited less than 10 minutes.

    • Like 6
  15. 2 hours ago, PatchesC said:

    I don't see how some still say they'll fly off but are there any issues with screaming with them on? Like being pushed in your mouth a bit or chin pulling them off the nose at all? We'll have the neck gaiter style since those were easiest to alter for fit.

    We didn't try screaming, but wearing them on the coasters wasn't an issue at all with the masks we wore. @IndyGuy4KI and I had simple cloth masks, while @acole5292 had a disposable paper mask. I'll experiment with some other masks this week at Kings Island.

    Just as enthusiasts have figured out cargo shorts, I'm sure we'll master pandemic facemasks.

     

    19 hours ago, gforce1994 said:

    Photos from Coaster Studios.

    3A466FCC-A4D3-4FC5-B3AD-9374A0E24137.jpeg

    539AA698-2D10-4489-92D0-AF39DE15C7B6.png

    It was frustrating that many weren't taking social distancing seriously. We tried to keep our distance from others throughout the day, aided by the mostly light crowds.

    Cornball had some rows closed off for social distancing, at least when we rode.

    • Like 3
  16. 2 minutes ago, AnyPancakes said:

    Thanks sir. I used the contact us link. They have the email receipt. They just aren’t at home right now. I probably should have figured this out when I was there for Father’s Day. But didn’t have it on my mind then. 

    If you use the online order lookup option in the online store (Menu->Order Lookup), you might be able to look it up with your dad's information, assuming you know it.

    • Like 1
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