Parking Prices Changing

[BavarianBeatle]

More ways to make money! People cant say no to parking! Thank God for my pass!

Well, they could. They could park at Great Wolf and walk over. However, doing so may be against the policies of both Great Wolf Lodge and Kings Island.

I'm not sure how Great Wolf Lodge works, but I know at a lot of larger resorts or even the most basic hotels in the Orlando / Anaheim area, you pay an amount (usually between five and ten dollars) per day as a parking fee. When you check in, you write your license plate on the form you sign and that works as a sort of parking pass. Even when you stay at hotels in Mason that don't require a parking charge, you'll often see a space to write your license plate number on the agreement at check-in, because the larger properties and the properties near huge destinations do so.

Great Wolf Lodge might... But even if they don't I'm sure it's against their policy to park there. It's a business, and likely a private tow-away zone. That would give them every legal right to have your vehicle removed from the premises if you were not a paying customer at their establishment. It just depends on if the people working notice / care enough to inform someone who could remove your car.

If they have properly posted tow away zone signs that comply with the Ohio Revised Code, you are correct. If they don't have those signs, they are guilty of theft of a motor vehicle, a felony.

[Browntggrr]

^ What code would that be?

I only ask because I am used to, in PA, that if a vehicle is on my business property illegally, it is my right to have the car towed w/o signs posted.

[The Interpreter]

State laws vary:

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4513.60

There is no legal advice contained herein. Consult a competent attorney in your jurisdiction if you have or think you may have a legal problem.

[Rutgerskev]

Hehe as a fellow attorney I always laugh at the (necessary) disclaimers on a message board.

[Browntggrr]

State laws vary:

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/4513.60

There is no legal advice contained herein. Consult a competent attorney in your jurisdiction if you have or think you may have a legal problem.

I wonder if there are codes for business property as well.

[BavarianBeatle]

Back on topic, anyone else remember this? http://www.timesgazette.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=169296 I find Mr. Scheid's comments at the end of the article to be rather interesting

[The Interpreter]

That was then, this is now.

Also depends on for whom the nickels toll.

[CedarPointer]

IIRC, wouldn't passholders have been charged the tax on parking even when they got free parking with their pass?

[KIfan1980]

Back on topic, anyone else remember this? http://www.timesgaze...rticleID=169296 I find Mr. Scheid's comments at the end of the article to be rather interesting

Nice memory Beatle

It is interesting that "a price increase of any kind would negatively affect attendance and revenues, and could lead to park job losses." when discussing the proposed 3% admission and 5% parking taxes, yet this year there have been the following:

• 6% increase in admission prices - is anyone aware of when it moved from the $51.99 opening day price to the current $52.99 price?
• 20% increase in parking prices

Note that I still disagree with Mason taxing admissions/parking, but the quote is a little ironic given this - must be the improving economy ...

[bkroz]

Yes parking is $12.00, but I'd say that's at or below industry average.

Most Six Flags parks are $20 (though it varies). Disney & Universal Parks are up to $18.00 I believe. Dollywood is $8.00. As far as SeaWorld Parks, Williamsburg is $13.00, Tampa is $12.15 (don't ask me why) and Orlando is $13.15. Basically, no one is still hanging out at $10.00 anymore.

And while Six Flags' $20.00 looks incredibly expensive, remember that Busch, SeaWorld, Disney, and Universal all have ticket pricing schemes that encourage multi-day trips... And you'll be paying that $12.15 - $18.00 each day. I'd say Kings Island's price is reasonable for a park its size, and considering pretty much every park has increased parking prices this year, why would you expect less of Kings Island? People always say, "Don't complain about the food prices, because that's pretty standard for big venues like ball games." Same goes with parking. I was attending a concert in Cleveland last weekend (which was smartly scheduled the same night as an Indians game), and the closer parking garages were $20.00 while the farther were $15.00. And that's for two hour parking located a half mile from the venue...

The problem I think we can agree on is that the price hike isn't justified if the parking lot is full of potholes, poorly staffed, and has faded cardboard directional signs.

[KIfan1980]

Agree and am not complaining about the $12 cost - as you say it is in line with industry pricing. Also agree that what you get at some of those places is a different level than at KI - at BGW this week, that $13 included multiple people directing you to your parking spot (even when I returned at 7pm), a well paved and signed lot, a tram ride to the entrance, along with the landscaping you'd expect at BG.

My ongoing belief is that KI is out of line when it comes to quality for the cost in areas like parking and food (I could talk for a while about the value of my meal from Trappers Smokehouse at BGW). By the same token, I think they don't value the rides (admission price) highly enough - especially when it comes to Season Pass sales, online sales, and other special events.

[Delirium_Guy]

Yes parking is $12.00, but I'd say that's at or below industry average.

Most Six Flags parks are $20 (though it varies). Disney & Universal Parks are up to $18.00 I believe. Dollywood is $8.00. As far as SeaWorld Parks, Williamsburg is $13.00, Tampa is $12.15 (don't ask me why) and Orlando is $13.15. Basically, no one is still hanging out at $10.00 anymore.

Universal is sitting at $15 currently, they quietly raised the price shortly after Potter opened. Disney has maintained their $14 rate. SeaWorld is $14 and Busch Tampa is $13....both are posted at the tolls at that rate. If you've seen $12.15 or $13.15 that is the price prior to adding 7% sales tax in Tampa or 6.5% sales tax in Orlando to bring them up to an even $13 and $14.

With that said, I would tend to agree that paying such a high rate at Kings Island to park in a lot that has certainly seen better days would be the issue for me. Just like the atrocious food prices for the absolute crap that they serve. I have no problem paying the prices, but I expect the quality to be there.

[BavarianBeatle]

Back on topic, anyone else remember this? http://www.timesgaze...rticleID=169296 I find Mr. Scheid's comments at the end of the article to be rather interesting

Nice memory Beatle

It is interesting that "a price increase of any kind would negatively affect attendance and revenues, and could lead to park job losses." when discussing the proposed 3% admission and 5% parking taxes, yet this year there have been the following:

• 6% increase in admission prices - is anyone aware of when it moved from the $51.99 opening day price to the current $52.99 price?
• 20% increase in parking prices

Note that I still disagree with Mason taxing admissions/parking, but the quote is a little ironic given this - must be the improving economy ...

Thank you! You have spelled out my thoughts almost word for word! And another interesting thing my wife pointed out to me: "Imagine the people who had two day passes and paid $10 on the first day,then came back a day later and had to pay more....." .

[lopan]

ive been to great wolf several times and they never asked for your license number, i dont recall though if they have signs saying for great wolf visitors only or tow away or anything like that

[MarketingExpress]

My ongoing belief is that KI is out of line when it comes to quality for the cost in areas like parking and food

What constitutes this "quality parking" you speak of?

Parking seems pretty cut and dry to me...just give me a lot to park in which my car won't get hit when people pull out, can be easily navigated, and won't get a flat tire traveling through the lot...

[CedarPointer]

IMO, KI is doing what they can when it comes to the parking lot. They're not going to spend millions to repave the whole thing in this economy when that money would be better spent on a ride. Who knows, maybe the extra $2 is going into a fund to repave it?

[Avatar]

^^ honestly you need clarification on what he was saying. It would take less time typing to explain that to you but since you have marketing as part of your signature name, I suggest you go out and see what a customer is saying here.

See for yourself what guest are getting fo their parking fee compared to others in the industry. Give basic service, then charge for basic service. That seems fair to me, but..... If you charge compable prices the give compable services.

[MarketingExpress]

^I'm asking the customer directly for him to clarify what he considers a quality parking lot since he doesn't seem to think that he's getting his moneys worth (assuming that he actually is paying and doesn't have a parking pass). Give me some examples of what you see and like at other parks that you would like to see implemented in KI's parking lot.

I agree that one should expect a certain level of quality returned for what you pay (ie: food), however I just don't see how much more can be done with a parking lot as long as it is maintained.

[CoastersRZ]

Agreed. I remember a time when Kings Island used to have people directing cars to the parking spots. Hersheypark still does that, as do most of the big themers down in Florida.

[PhantomTheater]

Provide a tram system like at BG, Dollywood, Hershey, Disney, several SF parks, HW etc.

EDIT: It's Interesting that CP still has traffic directors as KI does not considering the main CP lot is a lot easier to navigate than KI's.

[standbyme]

EDIT: It's Interesting that CP still has traffic directors as KI does not considering the main CP lot is a lot easier to navigate than KI's.

Maybe that's a sign that Kings Island draws a more intelligent clientele.

[Tanna]

I'm going to sound vigilante, but here goes.

Since July 1st, I have friended ten people from Kings Island facebook. Looking at it statistically, these are only people on FB, only people who are vocal enough to post, and only the ones I can read before they get blocked.

My reason for friending is this, I know they are going to get blocked from the page, and I tell them why. These people are reporting crimes that happened to them. I was blocked, so I know that they will be, too. Besides, they need someone to apologize for what happened to them.

One post was one man reporting that several cars had been broken into. Before the post went down, several comments relayed the idea that "That's what he got for leaving his car in a parking lot." Hunh? So now we need to take shifts and sit and watch our car? Are we going to have to attend the park in odd numbered parties to make sure our car is not going to be vandalized?

Needless to say, one wants to memorize the faces of those who posted that logic so that we may avoid them in future. Their moral rational is spooky.

The parking lot belongs to Cedar Faire. We rent space in their personal parking lot by paying a fee. What are we going to get for that raise in price?

We need more than pothole fixing at this point.

[bkroz]

In all fairness, they don't need to recycle that parking increase back towards us when it comes to benefits. In fact, they don't need to keep that extra money at Kings Island at all. And if they want, they can just use it to pay their CEO's salary. No where did anyone at Cedar Fair sign a contract saying that if you park at Kings Island, Kings Island will get new things.

Again... Business.

Just like those $3.00 parking lots that charge $20.00 on the night on concerts and baseball games, think of the parking lot as a separate entity. When you pay to park at those parking garages on concert nights, what you pay isn't re-invested back into maintenance of the parking garage - at least, not in full. It's going into someone's pocket. The money Kings Island's parking lot makes belongs to Cedar Fair, and they can do what they want with it.

I think things like that are so obvious and logical from a business point of view. But since we all have these intense emotional ties to Kings Island and know it as this happy place with great adventures and incredible memories, we sort of refuse to think that they'd *gasp* charge us an unfair price for something. And if something does cost money, we convince ourselves that it's going towards our next family-friendly adventure or riveting roller coaster. That's not always the case, and if we could remove the sentimental contacts for long enough to see that Kings Island is not only a business, but just one appendage of a much larger company, things like parking increases may make sense.

All that said, I do completely agree with what others have said about the price being average, but the service being below-average. But like I said, I think they try to keep the prices even across parks, and the traffic directors, causeway maintenance, re-painting, and camera towers at Cedar Point are certainly bringing up the average cost to maintain all the parking lots. And if we had our tram service still in operation, maybe that would make each park's rate $13.00. But again, there's no guarantee that parking fees go towards parking lots anyway. Just in theory.

[XGatorHead 8904]

In all fairness, they don't need to recycle that parking increase back towards us when it comes to benefits. In fact, they don't need to keep that extra money at Kings Island at all. And if they want, they can just use it to pay their CEO's salary. No where did anyone at Cedar Fair sign a contract saying that if you park at Kings Island, Kings Island will get new things.

Just like if you buy a Fast Lane pass, there's no guarantee that that revenue will be used to get Kings Island new things. Oops, um, wait a minute...

There's ranting, and then there's ranting. No one forces you to buy this, and I personally promise that if you don't choose to partake, you will notice virtually no change in the day to day experience at the park. If you go on a Saturday, yes, you may encounter a dozen or so people who choose the Fast Lane option while you're in line for a ride. But AGAIN, we're talking an additional 2-3 minute wait for you, and the park is making BUNDLES of money which WILL come back to us in the end.

Gator, just havin' some FUN...

[Tanna]

GYK. You are right. There's no promise that they will improve that park with any of the monies, it's just we the customers with wishful thinking, to be honest. I'd like to think CEO's care, but wishing doesn't make it so.

When I was presented with a gift of a season pass after several seasons of not having one, I questioned inwardly, "Why?" Especially after last year's dismal Haunt.

Now, after having the pass, and not being able to go since that one Sunday, I will definitely question my marriage vows if I'm presented with another one.

That money could have gone towards a backyard pool.

It's not the pricing issues, it's not the individual pricing of certain venues of the park. Considering the dinosaurs aren't colored in the aspect of Jack Horner's theory, I don't want to see the dinosaurs. It's an anthropologist's nitpick, I know, but that's how I am about dinosaurs. I don't want to slingshot, I don't want to swing madly, I don't need to rush to the front of the line.

I'm glad that these items are charged separately, instead of piling the fee on this ... little piece of plastic in my wallet that's not doing me any good.

I want to go to the park. I want to see happy people. I'd like to have fun. I want little kids to have the memories I had.

If they pocket the money, and don't create some return to the patrons, those waiting extra in line because of FastLaners will grow disgruntled. Then there truly will be anger and disillusionment towards the park.

If they don't invest in the park, or at least invest in making the patron's time in the park better, there will be an army of me.

[KIfan73]

On the topic of prices...I am always truly amazed that an operation the size of Kings Island is able to continue to operate...and turn a profit. The thoughts of what it must take, on a daily basis, to keep it going absolutely boggle my mind. I also don't think that if the infrastructures of the park weren't built in the '70's, there could not be a Kings Island amusement park...even at quadruple the prices they're charging for everything now.

[bkroz]

^

I think you're right. And as a testament, we don't typically see many NEW, large-scale theme parks being built anymore. It's not that it's a dying industry, just that the financial investment needed to get one off the ground would be so staggering. The best one can hope for is a smaller park that grows a loyal local following, or for a major corporation (typically a film studio) to show interest and pour in investment. As far as new parks go, aren't MOST by Disney, Universal, Warner Brothers, Merlin, etc? And places change hands and are re-branded and receive large investments that jump start them, but to build Kings Island from scratch would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. I'd say that no individual or family could do that anymore.

Gator, just havin' some FUN...

You are right Gator, and remembering that I posted that, I almost kept my mouth shut in this parking topic. But I suppose I imagine that things like Dinosaurs Alive, Fast Lane, etc. are much different than parking. Maybe I'm wrong. But parking is parking is parking, and I think it's clear enough that that money isn't being re-invested into parking. For things like Fast Lane and the Dinosaur exhibit I think that the money will return - even if not in full - to power expansions of the dinos.

And I have no doubt that the money will be re-distributed to many parks from our Fast Lane, but I also imagine that the fact that people are buying it says something to Cedar Fair about Kings Island's popularity. In other words, Fast Lane is a testament to how popular Kings Island is, so that sort of encourages reciprocity financially. Kings Island's Fast Lane brings it in, so Kings Island (to me!) seems more likely to be rewarded. And by next season, I imagine more parks will feature Fast Lane, so that should also even out that playing field and bring in more money PERIOD which can then be distributed between parks in accordance with their popularity, etc.

So yes, I was aware of my contradiction there. But I think re-investment from parking is far, far less likely to happen than re-investment from Dinosaurs Alive, for example.

[Vortex]

I would not mind paying parking if they fixed those big pot holes. Anyone know why we don't have trams anymore?

[Tanna]

Asia's going all to town with the parks. They have a Hello Kitty park coming up.

(Yes, I am the person that bought those Hello Kitties at KI.)

[standbyme]

Anyone know why we don't have trams anymore?

I have some nice memories of the trams back in the 70's when I was a kid...but as an adult I am in awe that the park ever even had trams...the parking lot isn't really that big. I think it would be more of a pain waiting for the tram than just to walk. Whenever we come to the park we stay at the "resort" across the street and we usually walk either to or from it at least once during our trip.