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Dinosaurs Alive! is coming to Kings Island in 2011


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And if I`m not mistaken, the few pop machines that remained at King Island last year were more than $3.50 a piece. More like $3.75 or $4. I can`t remember which. Right now, I have given up Coca-Cola entirely (I`m in my twelfth day without any sort of cola. I gave it up for Lent, but may very well stay primarily Coke free after Easter rolls around, one week before KI opens.

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Well, I`ve only ever had one cavity in my life. And that was a result of a molar that came in at an angle, that I later had braces move it into its correct position, exposing the cavity. I used to drink three to four cans of Coke a day. I quit cold turkey twelve days ago. Talk about a tough couple of days!

The weird thing is, in the summer when I`d work at Coney on the weekends, I would almost always drink tons of water while there. But only on days that I worked at Coney! Now, I`m drinking water almost all the time. Makes me wish it was time for Coney to open already!

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During this past summer, I started getting ice water when going out to eat instead of a soda. I never drank much soda anyways, but I cut it out almost completely and went a long time without any! Today, I still usually get ice water but have gotten a couple sodas recently :P During the day I drink a couple Powerade Zeros and water and milk :D

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I really do not understand why there are so many people that are against this attraction. I believe that this is a great addition to our (Families, Roller Coaster Gods, Enthusiasts, Wildlife, or whatever else I can't think of) wonderful Kings Island. Don't forget before last Friday we only knew of WindSeeker and now we have both that and Dino Alive. I'll also add that I was already pretty pumped for WindSeeker and think it will be ALOT better then others think. I know I will be there opening day and try to be one of the first in line for WindSeeker and I will also try to be the first for Dino Alive. I know that when I first saw the upcharge fee I was kinda in shock but after a few days it sounds extremely reasonable due to the upkeep of such an attraction. Remember with most of the upcharge attractions Kings Island does offer a special before noon, so I hope it continues with this.

I also have get a big A+ to Don and Kings Island for the teaser page; all of us were completely lost and it brought some fun to the Off Season. I think I posted on the main topic on page 10 on the 11th and it is currently on page 98 (wow is really all that I can think but at least it was nice reading material). Also remember one thing that this proves is that Kings Island DOES read this board.

I know that certain users on this board will not think the same way I do but maybe this will help a little. I also can promise that a user with a similar name as mine and I are not playing Good Cop/Bad Cop as I do not know them or really don't know if I would want to. Just some thoughts of a long time lurker and theme park enthusiast.

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While I can say that KI seems to be trying to cater to both families and thrill seekers this year, they have failed in both. First off, WindSeeker, in my opinion, looks like an oversized Zephyr. This ride looks low capacity and as thrilling as going up the Tower. In fact, from what I have heard, the ride will not have chains like on Zephyr, but bars, which means the ride will not swing at all, just straight up, couple circles, and down. That sure sounds thrilling to me....

As for Dinosaurs, it is a recycled idea as was mentioned earlier, and would be a fine FREE attraction for the park. HOWEVER, to charge anything with this "attraction" to gold pass holders is ridiculous. I understand that KI is having someone else take care of this attraction, but to snub your pass holders is not the right thing to do. I for one will NOT be attending this attraction.

To sum it up, this year KI is trying to stretch themselves too thin while trying to stay under a small budget. If you want to do two attractions, that's fine, but make sure that you are going to do it right, not what I am seeing this year: A half-ass attempt to please two markets.

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I agree that I would be pleased to visit this attraction if it were given a different pricing scheme.

Honestly, I would find it incredibly reasonable if it were $4.00 for visitors, $2.00 for pass-holders.

Consider something like Xtreme Skyflier or Slingshot. We are talking about very, very low capacity attractions who almost intrinsically require a limitation to be placed on who can ride it - in this case, money. If it didn't cost extra, the line would be infinite. Supply and demand. In order to make the ride profitable, its income must surpass its operating costs. That search for profit must also be balanced with the demand for the experience. So on slow days, $5.00 is enough to keep the line filled to the right amount, and to keep the ride's operation financially worthwhile. On heavy traffic days, the balance is at $20.00.

But this Dinosaurs Alive attraction will be operating all day, every day, whether five, fifty, or five hundred people are viewing it. Perhaps there will be a day when the operating costs far, far exceed the income produced. The parks hope is that there will be more days when the income trumps the operation. There is no individual experience that relies on the customers to take life. Slingshot would be useless without visitors. Dinosaurs Alive will not have that same limitation. It's going to operate whether I visit or not, so it's almost silly for me to pay that much (I feel the same way about drinks in fast food restaurants - free, unlimited refills, with people dumping out full large cups if they change their mind, but I have to pay exorbitant amounts for a drink of my own? Can't I simply take a "credit" from the old woman who didn't get a refill and have a free drink? Not sociologically sensical of course, but financially...)

Granted, I see that that is how dinosaur exhibits often work in zoos. The difference here is, you've already spent upwards of $150 dollars to get your family into Kings Island, and even beyond that, there's a reason why upcharge dinosaur exhibits at zoos are traveling exhibits. Fun, interactive, and unique as they might be, how many times is the same customer likely to pay extra to visit, even after three or four years? Certainly pass-holders are even LESS likely to keep coming back, as they may be at the park weekly, daily, hourly...

I think $2.00 is a fair price for passholders, and $4.00 is the upper limit for what customers will pay after a certain number of months.

Of course, we'll find out. If the pricing scheme isn't working, it will change. ... Or not (Sorry to pull a Terpy).

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Here's my question (and no, it's no complaint):

Where is this going to be located under categories on KI's site? They're going to need a way for people to know it's there , from looking at the website........

Well, at the moment it's dominating the homepage, so I don't see much problem for that right now; but in the future, when it comes time to sell season passes and advertise the 30th, I'd imagine they'll put it under the Family Attractions category.

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True. In fact, that may be one of the best reasons to have an upcharge at all.

After all, like it or not an amusement park caters to a far different crowd than a zoo.

I hate to think how some 13 - 15 year olds who think they're too cool for school might treat these displays, or worse yet, the 17 - 20 year olds trying to show off. Having an upcharge will keep them away. I just think that a $2.00 / $4.00 one would accomplish the same thing without being a blatant cry for money.

Free to park, but not to see the dinosaurs?

Interesting priorities.

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I think part of it is that, if they gave season passholders free entry, it would "clog up" the trail for those with day tickets who paid to enter it and would have higher expectations than those who got in free as much as they wanted. I know that's a bad way of putting it, but it gets the point across...

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Open air dinosaur museum proposed for state park in Florida Keys

A German-based company says it can draw 40,000 to 70,000 more visitors per year to the park in Islamorada by creating a prehistoric open-air museum within the 32 preserved acres.

The big lure: life-size replicas of giant dinosaurs, a 45-foot Megalodon shark and other prehistoric creatures that roamed the earth and seas long before the Florida island chain came into existence 125,000 years ago.

“Just to protect the coral fossils is one thing, but I think the tourists and people want more,” said Bernd Wolter, founder of German-based Bernd Wolter Design, which creates and builds the life-size replicas.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/20/2125386/open-air-dinosaur-museum-proposed.html

Perhaps the powers that be at KI are onto something with DA.

An entire park in Florida? That is a big investment!

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I certainly didn't mean to indicate that the dinosaur park should replace free parking. Rather, I was saying that free parking seems like a higher tier than their dinosaur park, and so it's strange that the latter isn't included. If you can get the gold, you should also be able to get the silver, right?

My proposition was for $2.00 entry for passholders, and I stick by it.

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It would be intresting to know how much this exhibit actually costs KI.

Judging by all the comments that KI has had to censor from its Facebook page, I would say that this is going to cost them something more than the nickels it costs to install the exhibit. How much, I do not know. But the park is obviously hoping that the revenue exceeds those combined "costs" and that they make a profit. I share that hope.

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Judging by all the comments that KI has had to censor from its Facebook page, I would say that this is going to cost them something more than the nickels it costs to install the exhibit.

Do you mean people are claiming they will not go to the park because of an attraction that has an optional expense?

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Judging by all the comments that KI has had to censor from its Facebook page, I would say that this is going to cost them something more than the nickels it costs to install the exhibit.

Do you mean people are claiming they will not go to the park because of an attraction that has an optional expense?

There is much more to it than that. "Goodwill" is an asset of any business, and KI has lost some of that among the people who don't like the attraction and/or the fact that it is an upcharge. On the other hand, they have increased their goodwill among people who like and are willing to pay for the attraction. I'm sure they have done marketing research that suggests to them that the latter outweighs the former, and makes this a wise investment. As I said, I hope they are right.

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