[Decoding 2020]

Close up of things relevant to decoding:

[Orion Construction Photos]

Well thank you for that entirely uninformed opinion

If you actually want to know “why people think that”, feel free to trudge through this thread:  

All the extremely compelling evidence is included. It’s hardly people “being dumb”, there have been a lot of extremely intelligent and qualified people chiming in helping to decode the blueprints. 

[Decoding 2020]

Well, I think it would be more likely to be Husband of Beast. You know, since the female of the species is more deadly than the male 

 

[Decoding 2020]

I mean, since Beast is female  anyway, I think we’re due for a Daughter of Beast, right?  Amirite?! *lol*

(joking aside I think “Steel Beast”, a ride featuring tunnels and helixes, would be AWESOME)

[Decoding 2020]

I’ve been a big proponent for “if it’s a teaser you’ll know it” but since we’ve gotten to this point of the season without any actual teasers or really a whole lot more to discuss, I say “bring on the wild outrageous speculation!!!”  At least it will give us something to entertain ourselves with.

Its funny, actually, when MT was coming, and we had some actual teasers, there was a LOT more wild speculation about minor things at the park (my TINMAN boat next to Diamondback’s pond for example) that we knew probably weren’t anything... but what if they were?... but probably not  

I’m a little surprised at how little of the wild speculation about minor details of the park has cropped up this year, and how quickly each instance of it has been quashed. Maybe it’s just that the boards have lower traffic in general now, maybe it is that we have the blueprints and trademarked names (which I’m still not fully convinced are for this coaster) already.  

I still hear people on occasion pointing to the bits of wood and flowers in front of SoB’s eternal flame as being “proof” it is coming back even though the ride ops responsible for doing it admitted right away it was them and was done for fun, not inside information. What we need here is a good conspiracy theory about obscure “teasers” like that, just for fun

[Kings Island Bathrooms]

Pointing out you are consistently negative yet always have to get your word in is not “insults,” it’s an assessment I made from your own posts. If you find my interpretation of your attitude insulting or inaccurate you should perhaps look into how you are presenting yourself. Or ignore it, and keep spending time on someplace that will never live up to your expectations: no skin off my nose.

It also is in no way a concession of the argument, it is pretty much the foundation of the argument I’m making: a handful of loud, highly engaged, people feel entitled to near-perfection at a park that is already going above and beyond for these so-called “fans,” who spend about as much on three seasons of potential fun as a couple days cost at Disney. It’s tiring for those of us who actually like the park to see this attitude plastered all over the internet, and it’s even more tiring for the people who work at the park.

[Decoding 2020]

I found it amusing that recently on social media, I saw a post where someone was swearing the announcement would definitely be mid August because several employees at the park had told him. I couldn’t help giggling because I’m sure those employees “know” because they’ve seen the same claims and heard the same rumors as we have, not because they’ve been given inside information. 

[White Water Canyon water cannons now use tokens]

The only problem I could really see with free is that decorum and fair play often goes out the window once something is free. It would probably end up being a few obnoxious jockeys hogging the stations and not letting others have turns. 

It definitely would remove the cost of servicing the change machine and coin boxes. It may increase the cost of servicing the actual cannons since they’d probably get a lot more use, tho. 

[Kings Island Bathrooms]

9 hours ago, ldhudsonjr said:

Ok. Well I'm getting the impression that in your earlier post you were hinting that the park has decided not to tease the new ride because people complained about it so much, am I about right on that?

It wasn’t what I was talking about, but that is something that has occurred to me might be happening, and something I already suspected would happen. People (in this case, not really here as much as elsewhere on social media and in public) are still complaining that KI “got their hopes up too much” about the shed. When I was there for the announcement, I saw an awesome trailer for an awesome coaster, which stopped short of showing the brake run with the simple question “what’s in the shed?” My immediate thought that night, and continued to be my guess, was some sort of screens showing something. It turned out to actually be even cooler than I expected, but people still complain more about the shed than they compliment what has come to be one of my favorite rides in the park. It’s a bit as if you got some awesome expensive electronics as a gift and were still griping a year later about the paper it was wrapped in.

When it comes to actually bringing in revenue for the park, making fun advertisement or teasing for an upcoming ride likely has not a whole lot of effect when compared to the actual ride itself. The park employs a lot of people who, like many of us, truly enjoy the park and want to have fun with it. Those people like to have fun with the fans, as well. Examples of this are things like the new paint on the old arcade referencing former rides, the Flight of Cheer and other theming posters, and even something as big as Coasterstock which almost certainly costs nearly as much (in actual labor for the ERTs and the mental cost to come up with new fun things each year to keep us entertained) to put on as it brings in with our registration fees. But when it seems like the loudest (and often most amplified) of those calling themselves fans are debbie downers, especially when they’re complaining about the things that are done more for fun than for revenue, it isn’t much fun to play with them anymore. As much as I love the special playful extras the park has done that I’ve been able to enjoy, the ungrateful attitudes of others often make me say “well I wouldn’t want to do anything special for them either.”

[Kings Island Bathrooms]

It doesn’t even matter what the specifics are. But a little bit of honest praise goes a long way, while a large amount of over-entitled complaining is what usually dominates social media and “fan” sites in general. 

I get tired enough just seeing the non-stop complaining here and elsewhere about things the park has very little control over. I can’t imagine how hurtful it would feel if I was one of those many employees who are in charge of the restrooms, doing their best to keep up with the messes created by guests, a terrible enough task in itself, to see that even their best isn’t enough to keep people happy. It’s demoralizing. And it certainly doesn’t build a bridge between park employees and their so-called-fans. Honestly, if I /did/ work for the park I’d be ready to tell a lot of people to take their business elsewhere if things are so bad. Which is one of many reasons why it’s best I don’t work there . But even the kindest and most tolerant among the KI team are less likely to go out of their way when they are worn down by criticism from people claiming to be fans. I’m amazed, and grateful, at how often they still are willing to go the extra mile (Carnivale for example: the sheer number of park staff who worked their butts off in mostly unfavorable weather to bring that to us, and with unbridled enthusiasm, is staggering), and I can’t fault them for when they choose not to.

[Kings Island Bathrooms]

You’re awfully engaged for somebody who is so consistently negative about the park. Can’t find anything you actually like to spend time on?

[Kings Island Bathrooms]

 I really don’t think so. There is a big difference between constructive criticism and just constant negativity. You know I love ya!

[Kings Island Bathrooms]

And I’m saying relatively clean restrooms with a dedicated employee per restroom is /already/ a given. There are probably outliers, where there is urine or poop, BECAUSE of crappy GUESTS, not the neglect of the park, but I’ve been fortunate not to encounter, because of the dedicated restroom attendants. I don’t disagree with @BeeastFarmer that keeping the doors open may help a little with ventilation but I feel like complaining that KI somehow isn’t keeping up with Disney or Universal is a little rich considering their comparable prices and locations. You want AC in every restroom, go to Orlando and pay Orlando prices.

I’m irritated because I’ve learned the constant complaining about every little thing on KIC has not only been annoying to me, it has kept me from doing something I was looking forward to, that the park doesn’t have to do for us, and ultimately didn’t, because people are constantly rude dicks, here, and elsewhere. It’s annoying and I’m fed up, and clearly I’m not the only one. 

[Kings Island Bathrooms]

When KI starts charging as much as they currently do for a gold pass which lets you in every operating day, for one day admission, maybe we can compare them to Universal or Disney. If you want Disney level service, expect Disney level prices.

Personally I think gold passes are way less expensive than they should be, because even though they can be purchased for the price of a 2-5 evenings at nearly any other entertainment venue, people think they’ve bought some sort of exclusive privilege. Getting in ~100 operating days for $100 is your privilege. Having a dedicated employee cleaning every restroom during every operating day is pretty darn great already. I don’t know how I can have gone almost thirty days so far this year and not have encountered the restrooms that are so terrible, especially since women’s restrooms are supposed to be far worse than the men’s.

[White Water Canyon water cannons now use tokens]

It isn’t helpful if people “just aren’t carrying change anymore,” because there was already a change machine there. It just has gone from providing quarters to providing tokens this year. 

Makes me wonder if servicing the machines and cannons, and dealing with change was costing the park more than the quarters were bringing in. Because this feels more like a way to discourage use of the cannons than a way to make more money, to me. 

[Decoding 2020]

3 hours ago, Maverick44 said:

I just wish I could know who this person was and how he got this information.  Boo that man lol

Unless this is yet another person I believe he said he was (or was working for) one of the contractors for food service at the park and they warned him of the upcoming announcement because of that. There is the possibility that it was something like Chick-Fil-A, or even the little ICEE/snack stand on International Street uses contracted workers rather than ones hired by KI. I’m a pretty skeptical person, but what I read rang true to me. I would still take it with a grain of salt, but I also wouldn’t discount it as a clear fabrication.

[Kings Island Bathrooms]

Really that sentence could have stopped at “grab a hold of a turd.”

I’m pretty impressed with how well KI typically keeps up with the restrooms. Most times I go into one, there is an employee currently cleaning, which leads me to believe they tend to assign an employee to every restroom, which is quite a bit of labor expense. Typically the worst I’ve seen in there is an unflushed toilet. 

[2019 Meals and Restau...RANTs]

8 hours ago, DonnaFan said:

What would be the "healthiest" option in the park? I went today and feel really gross from pizza and fried foods. We're going back tomorrow and ugh, the thought is making my stomach hurt already. What isn't fried or covered in cheese?

Coney BBQ hands down. Non-fried low-processed meats (pulled pork, rotisserie chicken, tri-tip beef), and several vegetable sides. If you don’t want meats at all, you can get three sides instead of a meat and side, still on dining. The corn on the cob, baked sweet potato, and collard greens are all tasty choices if you’re looking for something a little healthier than traditional park fare.

Also as was mentioned, the KI Salad at Brewhouse is fantastic. Mixed greens with a sweet vinegar and oil type dressing, dried cranberries, feta, and peanuts. 

[Cirque]

This is what it looks like:

[Cirque]

It happens during the final tumbling scene, the last part before the “goodbyes”. Ariane is the lead alien (in orange) and at one point three of the other performers team up to throw (and catch) her in the center of the stage.

[Grand Carnivale - June 15-July 7]

It’s Munch’s The Scream, only with a cutout for people to stick their face in for photos. Below the easel you can see the lower body of the person whose face is stuck in it.

[Guests Say The Darnest Things]

Because, especially when it is the first people on a new train, two groups of three can be placed together, time and effort doesn’t need to be wasted finding a single rider. 

And crap like that is how micromanaging separators manage to send out half-full trains often enough to completely obliterate any of the perceived benefit of “full trains,” at the expense of anyone getting to sit where they want. Guests enjoying themselves and getting through the line in a reasonably quick manner should be the goal of the separator position. When they are told or get it in their own heads that their job is “full trains” things usually fall apart. 

Edit: I see there apparently was room on the /prior/ train for a single, so it wasn’t completely wasted effort. But the above scenario is probably what the guest who said they had three meant, it wasn’t necessarily a stupid thing to say. 

[Where’s the best seat on these coasters?]

The same person comes back to the boards every few months and makes a new screen name and a bunch of posts asking for a bunch of detailed answers. Never responds, I don’t know if they ever even look at the replies. I remember them asking more or less the same thing on three separate occasions. This current crop is at least somewhat different questions. 

It’s not useless discussion tho, for the people who actually participate  and anyone who reads it, and the questions don’t seem to be designed to elicit an emotional response, so it’s pretty mild as far as possible trolling goes. It has been mildly irritating when the questions were the same and asked over again after a bunch of people had already put the thought and trouble into answering the first time... and the second.

[Season Pass name change to Bruce Wayne]

Have you considered the possibility your daughter may indeed be Batman?

It’s interesting to me that the “Batarang, Explosive Gel,  Batmobile” are listed in the same area where mine says 2019 Gold Season Pass + Dining. Makes me wonder if in whatever code got accidentally triggered, those are replacement names for the different add-ons in the same way the passholder name has been replaced.

[Unauthorized entry around Banshee]

You do because it’s a great event, but Coasterstock Beast tours are typically far too many people to be taken into the helix. It was one of Don’s impromptu twitter-advertised tours a few years ago.