BeeastFarmer

I haven't seen any advertising for it in Central Kentucky. I've blabbed on and on about it though! A coworker is bringing her family and I am bringing a friend for NYE. My parent wanted to c.this year, but they are dog sitting and it just didn't work out logistically. Think about this, though: So many people said WinterFest would never return because of the unpredictable weather, the market has changed, Cedar Fair has no interest, etc. In just two seasons, the park has opened up more real estate than it ever did before for WinterFest, had more rides open, more shows, more food and more lights than ever before. The event has spread to almost half of the CF parks. It's free for pass holders. And it scored a #2 spot in the USA Today poll, beating Dollywood! (if you take stock in these fan-based polls.) Pretty impressive.

Wow, the park was packed last night! I am glad to see large crowds, and through the magic of WinerFest, it didn't feel crowded! I tried the buffet at Reds. I was not impressed at all. Glad I had the meal plan so I had to only pay $5 and I am glad I tried it. But a decent buffett needs to have more than 5 or 6 selections. The food was very good (except the green bean casserole, it was too "earthy" for me) but the sweet potato casserole and the mashed potatoes were ice cold! I think the rolls were left over from Sunday. Hard as a rock, shrunken and wrinkled. The ham was very good. It would have been nice to have a soup and a dessert. (They were not giving out the cookies I have heard so much about.) I must have just hit the buffet on an off day or time because I have heard great things about it. I hope the park continues to offer things like this. I also wanted to try the "international" foods at the Festhaus. I was still full from the buffet so I wanted to take my second meal "to go." Got a refill, asked the cashier what time they stopped serving (most places do not stay open until closing except I Street during normal season). He didn't know and said to ask the folks behind the serving line. On the way out, I wanted some pull apart bread and they were sold out. I asked if it were available anywhere else in the park and was told "Uh...I don't know." Maybe this is part of the root of the food service issue at KI. Basic things should be common knowledge like closing times and if something is available elsewhere. Side note: the pull apart bread is awesome and if it is only available, I think the park should look at expanding it to other areas. It is reasonably priced and an arguable hit. (but maybe they limit supply to increase the urgency to purchase?) All this to say--I think that food service has improved at KI. This is not a rant post!

On The Beast, I wouldn't. Stay away from my The Beast.

@BeastForever, yes I am salty about the Junkyard Coaster. But I do enjoy a spin on it every now and then. If I had my druthers, I'd like for it to be rethemed to something more appropriate to the area/history and have some major landscape restoration. The area will never be what it was, but I can hope for a better future sometime down the road. Or not. I'm just an armchair enthusiast.

I agree with @IndyGuy4KI. I was able to get 4 walk up rides via the single rider line on Saturday, but there was rarely more than a stair wait in the standard line. My last ride was made memorable. I was waiting to be seated and a very vocal 20ish lady came behind me and said "Ummm, you don't have to wait, like just go on in." I responded that they have a seperator who assigns seats and she proceeded to argue. I told her to be my guest and go in front of me. She bolted out. Of course the seperator made a point to get her attention to the point of going to the row she had chosen and telling her to go back to the holding area. Fortunately, at this time the next train was rolling in and I was only subjected to about a minute of "Oh my God, this is like totally stupid, I have a Fast Lane and a Gold Pass...."

I went to WinterFest yesterday (12-15-18) and FINALLY got to check off all the things I didn't get to do in 2017! Blue Hot Chocolate was good. Cinnamon bread is good (not as good as the Dollywood version) and I struck gold as I was leaving because they had it at half price. I also, I was the last one in Coney BBQ, I had the buffet earlier but I just wanted to take home some green beans, they gave me a huge serving of them and sausage and a couple of biscuits. Park looked great, but I do have to say, the Oktoberfest pond and drained Diamondback splash down have a really funky odor in the winter. I like all the new roaming characters. The area formerly known as Coney Mall looked wonderful. I am glad they discontinued WinterFest Way and toned that area down, but I think they could use more lighing in that area. I also kind of wish the tree out front was not there. It is beautiful but it does kind of obscure the skyline. It does, however, set the tone for what greets you inside. I'd like to see it moved in the park with a real tree planted in front that will eventually get about 20-30 feet tall. Also, light up some more of the trees on the berms. Lastly, the trees on the pathway between IS and AZ (by KI Theater) didn't have the LED uplights on them, Were they just off for the night or have they not been on for the rest of the event?

Steel Vengeance (1) vs. The Beast (1)

The downside to having it run the length of the area formerly known as Coney Mall is that it would decrease foot traffic slightly which could lead to decreased gaming, food and merchandise sales. I say "could" from a devil's advocate position because Cedar Point has a Skyride going down the main midway and I don't know how it affects revenues in those departments. But I am sure the company has number crunchers that would take things like that into consideration vs armchair enthusiasts like myself.

https://www.knotts.com/play/merry-farm/attractions-shows Looks like they have three The Peanuts shows.

Don't remove the airbrush building! Move the concept over to the area formerly known as Coney Mall. The building looks 'German", so keep it and retheme it.

Steel Vengeance (5) vs. Maverick (2) The Beast (4) Vs. Banshee (3) 

They just "revamped" Festhaus a few years ago. And I think it is listed as a part of IS now IIRC.

^Drink cups are $1 with a season pass, don't bother with the souvenir bottle unless you just want the bottle. For a year or two, drinks were free with a season pass but that changed this year when they switched from Coke to Pepsi. I saw what this park was like under SIX and vowed never to return. I am glad I did. After seeing the YouTube videos of it in ruins and seeing where it is now it makes me have a fondness for it. If you like waterparks, it is ranked fairly well. I don't do water parks.

@pianoman...I would be up for a fountain renovation if they don't remove the pedestals and the current shape of the sprays. I actually prefer our RF as compared to KD, it seems more majestic while KD seems more chill. I haven't been to CW, so I can't compare to it.

Or they might drop non-obvious hints. Months before MT was announced, they tore down an original building and built a new funnel cake stand. They didn't highlight anything about the removal and replacement, they just put up a fence and said: "Caution: watch for falling trees." The back of the site was open fo see from the train and station. Like most, I thought it was going to be a flat ride. Of course, this hints kept coming, and in hindsight, it's so obvious. I wasn't an enthusiast in the time leading up to Banshee, but I bet there was a similar scene set. We may be seeing a huge change coming to the area formerly known as Coney Mall or X-Base with the Coney B-BQ and the KMAA and supposed removal of Firehawk, or it could be just general park improvements. But I bet something big is CoMiNg. Or not. But I am very excited about the future of Kings Island. (I say supposed removal of Firehawk because what if they are somehow altering it and renaming and retheming it? Wouldn't surprise me one bit, but I don't expect it. It would take an awful lot of renovation to change the ride.)

But it's a Gravity Group woodie, what else do you need? Cross threading, remember that, @IndyGuy4KI? lol

If I can offer some advice: Don't go in expecting a KI experience. I love KK and they do so many things right, but it is a small park and not part of a chain. So you may see coasters only running one train and slow loading times. They have a great coaster collection and (I'm told), a great flat collection. (I really only do the Drop Tower which is pretty good!) Food service is good and affordable. Definitely recommend Taco Tequila.

The park has released a POV of Kentucky Flyer. Looks fun! Also, they appear to continue to underpromise and overdeliver.

KD is bizarro KI to me. Almost everything is opposite. IS is kind of jutted into the parking lot, probably much more notable before Dominator. Also find it funny that is Safari Village, you have a Volcano next to an Avalanche and an Anaconda next to a Backlot filming location. And a Crypt mixed in for good measure. Nonetheless, I love this park. It is charming, unique and full of memories for me. Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

I do think KD's IS is more charming, but it is much smaller in scale. And I have never understood the reasoning for raising the elevation at the front of the fountain, other than photo opportunities. It blocks off the view of the fountains.

I think they have made vast improvements to IS in the last couple of years, but I do think it needs a more extensive overhaul. I'd leave the trees, replace most of the grass with seasonal color, add some statuary, replace the picnic tables, update some signage and replace pavers. Add in some weeping trees and shrubs like the one near the Emporium. Paint the buildings. But whatever they do, keep good music on IS!

But they might move their boarders outside the borders of the park proper.[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

1. How the Junkyard coaster ruined a beautiful area of the park. It's slowly recovering but unfortunately what was there is now gone. 2. The entry plaza. The ticket sales window and pass processing center replaced a berm that had shrubbery spelling out Kings Island and the other berm (to the right) would have a floral display of the new attraction for that season. The most recent victims were the crabapple trees in the trolley circle, but that's OK with me since we got WinterFest.

I haven't been to any of the other CF WinterFests or any of the original KI WinterFests of yorn. Since the event began at KI, would it be considered the flagship for WinterFest?

WinterFest was a return to the "old" KI for me last year, with a current day twist. I think the park is adding in nostalgic treats for us old school folks and look forward to seeing what they have planned down the road. International Street was absolutely the most incredible thing I have seen at Kings Island. When the lighting ceremony counts down, it actually feels like the buildings are beaming with pride and dancing. It really is electric.