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Kings Island 2015 Discussion Thread


Nick_Plummer

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That reminds me, I owe an Adventure Express ride op a nickel.

Story time! On that day during Haunt last season when the park was almost completely dead, my brother and I had an Adventure Express train to ourselves (well, also The Racer and Firehawk). When we got back to the station, they asked the typical "How was your ride?!?" My response? Something about it being really creepy and yet totally awesome. His response? "If I had a nickel for every time I've heard that, I'd have one nickel."

I was tempted to marathon it for another 19 laps and then hand him a dollar, but alas, other rides were calling. :)

Edit: The creepiness came from having an entire 30 seat train for 2 people, at night, in the dark, in the nicely wooded terrain. Oh, and to that op, if you're on here, hi!

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I used to love taking pictures of his works through the windows, with the tower in the background, and to just stand there and watch him create things with fire. Now it's a kiosk across the midway; no torch, no windows; the person working there telling me they do their blowing at Trader's World now... I just miss the old location, that's all.

Agreed, but thanks for letting me know where the business is now. I was wondering where Wayne (the glassblower) and his shop went...

In other news, today was amazing for me and I'm very exhausted but it was so worth it!

-MDMC, who had a FUN day and who also may or may not be planning a trip to Trader's World in the near future...

EDIT: Oh, and Adventure Express was amazing at night, as usual. Drop Tower and The Beast were great as well.

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Few quick impressions.....

- The turnout for Friday night was larger than I had expected given the stipulations for entry. Makes me wonder if that was being enforced or if it was open to all pass holders regardless.

- The new additions really looked nice and having the surrounding areas with new concrete laid is a major plus. Maybe one of these days we'll see a Kings Island without any asphalt pathways.......[/dreaming]

- The landscaping seemed to be addition by subtraction. Many overgrown bushes were either removed or heavily trimmed to give a much cleaner appearance. The removal of the defunct fountain in Tower Gardens is another example.

- Upset I didn't get to ride Woodstock Gliders. Stood in line twice but bailed after seeing little to zero movement. Not sure if it was just the long lines, slow operations or low capacity but I really hope this improves as the season progresses.

- Saturday + nice weather + opening day = extremely large crowds which suits me better for people watching than actually standing in long lines to ride. Glad I got most of them in on Friday night.

- I hate to say it but operations in general seemed sub-par at best. Again, maybe it was just working out the start of season kinks but one would think with proper training it would not be an issue. Some of the associates I encountered literally seemed to be doing there job for the very first time.

Question.....

- Is Dinosaurs Alive! free with a paid admission? I noticed an increased dino presence at the front gate and new signage highlighting the term "free" but never got close enough to read the fine print. Not sure if it was stating pass holders or everybody.

Side note......

- Breakfast Club Cafe in Lebanon is pure awesomeness. My corned beef hash breakfast was outstanding!!

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The Gliders' capacity stinks, and is going to continue to reek if they don't get hard about pairing up riders. Which I know the operators really don't want to have to do. When I rode yesterday, I would have understood if they paired me up with a stranger (but obviously preferred not), but even people who were together all wanted their own glider. So, each cycle is like ten people maybe?

Just before my ride cycle, one of the workers told the young man working the line that they needed to start pairing people up more, so as the previous cycle ran he came into the line trying to figure out how many would make it on the next one. I was at the front of the line and a single, he didn't make any attempt to pair me up. Then there was a woman with her two young children behind me. He asked how many in their group, and she said three but they each wanted their own. Considering every cycle we had seen while we waited in line had a single in all but one or two gliders, I could see her point of wanting to get her own way on that. She was strongly determined to do so. The young man kept trying to cajole her: "can't two of you ride together?" and she wasn't having any of it. "They both want to ride alone." Trying to lighten the mood he said "oh, then each of them alone and you not ride?" which I thought was funny but she was in full combat mode and didn't even crack a smile. Finally he gave in and walked farther back in the line. Almost immediately afterward, one of the children spoke to her in a small voice, and while I didn't make it out exactly, from the mother's responses it seemed that child didn't actually want to ride alone anyway. I didn't notice if she ultimately rode with the child or stuck to the results of her fighting for individual gliders.

It is not going to be fun working that ride this year, I can tell that much. Either they are going to continue letting everyone who wants to ride alone (disappointing everyone with slow long lines), or they are going to have to push the issue of making people ride together (disappointing everyone not getting their preference). Both of which put the workers in the position of dealing with a lot of unhappy people.

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I made it up for few hours Sat evening and was not surprised to see it pretty crowded. I got my Banshee fix and was surprised to of only waited about 30 min. Was going to ride Diamondback but it had a 75 min wait posted so just decided to walk around and check out the new additions. The park looks great as do the Gliders and Space Buggies.

I did notice something interesting when I was by the front gate. I looked over towards the stairs that lead up to the old International Restaurant. They used to be surrounded by windows on the ground level but now are partially walled in with a glass double door. There was some type of plastic attached on the glass so you couldn't see in. However if you looked up above the door there was no plastic to obstruct the view. It looks like some type of work is being done inside the old stairwell. I remember hearing on and off rumors about the International Restaurant making a comeback but there were accessibility issues as there was no elevator. Its got me wondering if that may be what is happening here. The reworking of the stair well / installation of an elevator so this might be opened again one day.

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I haven't been on many Flying Scooter models, but from what I was told at Woodstock Gliders, they didn't pair up 2 adults at a time, I think they said something about weight issues. Is that a common practice or is something else going on with how KI is loading theirs?

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Magenta....that is pretty much the same situation I observed while waiting in line. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out over the season.

Dino is free with a Gold or Platinum pass

So same as last year......I was hoping it would have been opened up to everybody meaning they had exhausted all possible revenue indicating a future removal. Not that I don't like it but once through is enough for me so I personally would like to see something new in that area.

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Loved Adventure Express! The ending tunnel voice is off, and the stone drummers are a bit squeaky, but other than that the ride was awesome as always!

It was off both times I went last fall as well. I wonder if they just neglect to turn it on or there's something wrong with it?

I'll be going next weekend. The day depending on the weather. Hope Sunday.

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It is not going to be fun working that ride this year, I can tell that much. Either they are going to continue letting everyone who wants to ride alone (disappointing everyone with slow long lines), or they are going to have to push the issue of making people ride together (disappointing everyone not getting their preference). Both of which put the workers in the position of dealing with a lot of unhappy people.

Part of the advertised experience is "customizing" your ride experience. It's hard to do that when so intimately close to someone you've never met before. Even for people who know each other, it's part of the experience to have your own tub to control as you wish. That's just kinda how the ride is designed, IMO, and pairing people up that would rather not be paired does not enhance the guest experience beyond the wait time. It would make the ride experience unenjoyable, in my opinion.

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Is Woodstocks Gliders on Fast Lane? If so, wait until a group comes through, then you will see how slow the line can really go! Experienced that at Cedar Point on Lake Erie Eagles! I also don't think you should be expected to pair up on this ride, as everyone wants to control their own. With me being 6'4", there is barely any room left with how i have to sit in these rides. One of my kids (7yr old) rode with me once last year, and it was very snug!

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Quick question for you all...

Me and the girlfriend lost our passes. Being the first time this has happened, do we get them replaced for free or do we pay $15 each for a replacement?

Second...we both have Platinum Passes and are looking to add on the Season Long Dining Plan. Is this possible and is there any possibility in doing Easy Pay on these?

Confused Hoeter...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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$15/ea for replacements. If you think you can find them, they'll print off a "Plat forgot my pass" slip at the Season Pass Center, supposedly only a couple times before making you get a replacement.

My understanding is that the All Season Dining Plan is only available on a payment plan when purchased with a pass also on a payment plan. Otherwise, you'll have to pay the full amount upfront.

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And on the subject of pairing people up on the Gliders, those tubs are NOT designed for two adults (or adult-sized teens). I found that out when I rode with thoe124 Friday night. Neither of us are very large in the waist area, yet we were barely able to squeeze into one tub, and by the time we got the seat belt buckled there was only about four inches to spare. In addition, thoe124, who is quite tall, had to angle his legs over to my side of the car in order to get his knees out of the way of the control wing. So it's not really practical for two adults to pair up.

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Me and the girlfriend lost our passes. Being the first time this has happened, do we get them replaced for free or do we pay $15 each for a replacement?

In previous years, you could get a free replacement if you had yet to use the pass that season. (eg. if you renewed in the fall, but lost the pass before spring) I don't know whether this is still the policy.

Since you have used your 2015 pass, you would need to pay the appropriate replacement fee. Note that you can only do this once per season; if you lose it again, you're out of luck.

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jcgoble3,

Kinda random but......was walking past Shake, Rattle & Roll Friday night and noticed it starting a cycle with riders on board but it never lifted. Once it started to slow I noticed you sitting, upright with arms crossed and sporting a very displeased face. Either the randomness or the mere look on your face got me laughing so hard I couldn't stop, lol.

Just wanted to tell ya.

Thanks for the laugh and sorry you didn't get your ride.

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jcgoble3,

Kinda random but......was walking past Shake, Rattle & Roll Friday night and noticed it starting a cycle with riders on board but it never lifted. Once it started to slow I noticed you sitting, upright with arms crossed and sporting a very displeased face. Either the randomness or the mere look on your face got me laughing so hard I couldn't stop, lol.

Just wanted to tell ya.

Thanks for the laugh and sorry you didn't get your ride.

Did I look anything like this?

634.McKaylaMaroney.mh.112812.jpg

(source)

:P

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I believe I saw two people get arrested in the parking lot on Saturday. I was out there in my vehicle eating my lunch and talking to my husband on the phone, and at some point noticed a large police and security presence farther down the aisle I was parked in (two security vehicles, a police cruiser, and ultimately an unmarked police car joined as well). They were milling around talking separately to two individuals, and I assumed they were taking statements about theft from a vehicle or something, but after a bit, one of the individuals was escorted (no cuffs) to the rear of the unmarked car which drove off, and somewhat later the same happened with the other person and the cruiser.

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Me and the girlfriend lost our passes. Being the first time this has happened, do we get them replaced for free or do we pay $15 each for a replacement?

In previous years, you could get a free replacement if you had yet to use the pass that season. (eg. if you renewed in the fall, but lost the pass before spring) I don't know whether this is still the policy.

Since you have used your 2015 pass, you would need to pay the appropriate replacement fee. Note that you can only do this once per season; if you lose it again, you're out of luck.

We used it down at Carowinds a few weeks ago so looks like we will be paying the $30.

Thanks!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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MULCH - lots and lots and LOTS of mulch. Cutting out or removing dead bushes and adding more and more mulch does not equal landscaping. Replacing the bushes and using a variety of plants to create textural and layered visual is landscaping. My hope is that as the seasonal crews come in there will be more color added. As of now LOTS of mulch.

Overall the park is looking nice and tidy - thats about all I can give it in the aesthetics department - NICE nothing great - not really WOW - nothing that really makes me want to sit and soak up the atmosphere just nice in a sort of "that new generic shopping mall sure looks nice" way.

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