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Park was quite packed when I left, the scare actors over in Planet Snoopy (or whatever it's Haunt name is) had hardly any room to really even do any of their scaring they were supposed to do, just kinda kept on getting in the way of people lol. And yes, this was due to the flood of the lines for food going out into the walkway with half of Planet Snoopy roped off.

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I went there and it was way to crowded. I was expecting the lines to go down during haunt. The parking lot was just as packed as it was earlier in the day when I drove by. Ended up riding AE and walking around for a bit. No one tried to scare us because the midways were really packed no one could do anything. It was hard just walking down coney mall. I liked walking around though cause of how KI looks during haunt. Definitely one of the most busy days I have seen.

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My point exactly.

Not to mention the park neither releases nor wants released attendance figures.

Unauthorized release by an employee would be cause for termination.

And what's being described here is far, far from a 24,000 crowd.

A 24,000 crowd on the Saturday night of Columbus Day weekend would be a disappointment for the park.

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I was going to ask where did the 24k figure come from? I think I missed where it was quoted from a real source?

Even with being busy, how is it even humanely possible to be understaffed and not have enough food?

And before you say "teenage crews, back to school, etc" there are hiring practices that could and should be implemented I avoid that....

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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I got there just after 11pm and left at 1am. I spent the time trying to find food and riding Racer, Bat, Adventure Express & Vortex - which had short waits in the 12am hour.

The 24k number was in response to a remark I made about attempting to park as traffic was jammed trying to exit the lot. I have no idea whether that was a guess, an actual (net) admission figure from some point in the day, or just someone throwing out a number. I didn't ask for any numbers (or for clarification).

 

Regardless, I shouldn't have posted it, as the individual probably wasn't authorized to talk about metrics of any sort with the public. My intention was to post my observations regarding crowds when I got there; I definitely didn't think that one through.

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We went Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Saturday was crazy.  We asked an employee on Sunday and were told that there was over 50k people there Saturday.  We rode Beast and Boo Blasters, caught Street Drum Corps, and called it a night.  That night, scare lines were crazy full.  Diamondback was running a 2.5 hour wait posted.  When we were in line for The Beast, there was a line for the Fast Lane Plus all of the way down to where the ride exit and Fast Lane split. (Not a place I would want to be if someone above spilled a drink)

 

Sunday was pretty good (and looks like it still is).  We had to leave due to just being tired.

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Future attendance may also suffer if inadequate staffing and long lines continue on Saturdays during Halloween Haunt. I'm sure other local haunted attractions will like that though.  Did someone say Lewisburg Haunted Cave???  This is exactly why I avoid KI like the plague on Saturdays during Haunt. I'll keep my Sundays. :)

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Thanks to Facebook timeline a couple of days ago, I was reminded of my #kiworstday.  It was in 2010 and I did not get a gold pass again until 2014, when the employee interactions caused me to fall in love with the park again,

 

In 2010, during the day on Saturday, I had to wait 45 minutes for a Coke at one of the mobile carts. We gave up after a The Beast ride and went to Olive Garden.

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That's how I felt that last Sunday when it was bring a friend day and dollar day on the same day. I had to wait over an hour in line for food at the main grille in Soak City. I was very close to saying we aren't renewing again, but then, Kings Island has a monopoly on amusement attractions in the area.

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Kings Island has a monopoly on amusement attractions in the area.

 

Excuse me? The Beach Waterpark, Great Wolf Lodge, Full Throttle Indoor Karting, EnterTRAINment Junction, Escape the Room Challenge. That's just five options in Northern Cincinnati alone, and there's probably many others I'm not aware of throughout the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky market that I'm not aware of because I'm from the Dayton area and don't go to the Cincy area much. Kings Island isn't anywhere close to a monopoly.

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Sorry, none of those compare to Kings Island as a whole as far as value. Sure, they each have elements that compete or are superior to Kings Island, The Beach waterpark compared to Soak City, Escape the Room Challenge compared to Haunt attractions, etc. But there is no other entertainment complex within a 100 mile radius of Cincinnati that has rollercoasters, waterpark, Halloween attractions, live entertainment, among other things. The only place that comes close to competing on that scale is Coney Island of Ohio (which you failed to mention btw).

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The key is to hit the park when there is no one there. I have been to Kings Island on numerous occasions during all the seasons of operation and yet I still have amazing lines and amazing service. Sure, you could argue certain criteria, but you did chose to go during an highly anticipated date for many people in the Tri-State area. That being said, expect high volumes of crowds. But then again, one is subject to the money pouch so i see the fustration.

I always recommend to everyone to get a Gold/Platinum Pass just due to the money paid back. I went well over 100 times this year to Kings Island, add in the prices and discounts given, and I already have my money back.

My tips?

Get there early.

Go on a Sunday (After church for me of course.)

Hit the food before 12 and after 2:30 (lunch rush dies down, minimal lines.)

Haunt Fridays, early, overcast, or late bring out the best lines and some of the best atmospheres for getting to your Haunts.

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Coney Island of Ohio (which you failed to mention btw).

 

I deliberately left Coney Island off so that the list could be focused on a specific region (northern suburbs), and also because, unlike the others, it's not one that I have personally experienced. But yes, Coney Island is definitely another choice in the Cincy area.

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Went Saturday and the wait times were very minimal from about 11am-1pm.  Not quite walk-on, but short enough.  After that things started picking up significantly.  We saw 2 hour posted waits on Firehawk and 90 minute posted waits on Diamondback between 2-5pm.  The Beast looked to be well over an hour all day.  The lines at night once the Haunt crowd got in were ridiculous.  At least 2 hours for any of the bigger rides, everywhere we saw.  Many of the Haunt attractions seemed to be at least 90 mins.

 

At the risk of alienating myself from most regulars here, I will admit to having bought the Fast Lane Plus for our group of four.  It's the first time I've ever done it, but it was worth every penny.  I'm not local, and can't get to KI more than once a year.  And usually that one time a year will be on a weekend.  Even between 8-12 when things were crazy, we never had to wait more than 20 minutes for Diamondback, Beast, Firehawk or Banshee.  And there was virtually no wait for anything else.  Although I wasn't thrilled about paying $80 apiece (they give you $10 off if you buy 4 or more), I can justify the cost by saying it would have taken us 3-4 trips to ride that many rides without the pass, especially when it's that crowded.  If I hadn't bought the FLP, it would have been a complete waste of time going on Saturday.  We would have spent the entire day in lines.  Being able to ride Diamondback and The Beast twice between 8:30-9:30 made it worth it.

 

My advice for anyone going from out of town on a remaining Saturday with nice weather, if you can get the Fast Lane Plus, definitely do it.  On a weekday in the summer?  Maybe not.  But I've been going to Kings Island for 30 years, and have rarely seen it as crowded as it was Saturday night.

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I've caved and attended Haunt the last three years on a Saturday and very year, it was so crowded you couldn't move. We went this past Sunday however for the kids Halloween party and I wasn't bad at all. Lines were fairly short waits and it wasn't overly crowded. I'm hoping it the weather does what it says it's going to this coming weekend and gets chilly, it may bring less people. But I'm not counting on it....

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