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Kings Island 2021 Questions


Kifranatic
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I'm looking to return to the '21 season and renew my Gold Pass from 2019. I skipped last year because of the virus and think it should be safe enough to return this season. Does anyone know if KI will require face masks for this upcoming season? Has it been relatively safe to visit the park even with the virus? I'm usually a single-rider and visit the park on my off-days from work so I typically go alone and spend half the day there. I remember in previous years, if you were a single rider they put you next to someone else if there was an open seat. I'm not sure if I feel safe doing that now. Anyone have more information on any of this? I'm really excited to return this year but I'm not finding much information on the KI website.

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I don't know any official information, but I visited a few times by myself in 2020. The answer is no, I would never get paired with another rider in the same row. I visited Disney last month, and even though they did every row, they would never put you with another party or individual in the same row. So for now I'd say it's safe to assume no, you will not be paired with another rider for now.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/28/2021 at 12:58 PM, CoasterJack said:

I don't know any official information, but I visited a few times by myself in 2020. The answer is no, I would never get paired with another rider in the same row. I visited Disney last month, and even though they did every row, they would never put you with another party or individual in the same row. So for now I'd say it's safe to assume no, you will not be paired with another rider for now.

Depended on who was separating on Orion, they may have tried to pair singles in the outside seat rows(meaning that there were 2 seats inbetween you and the other person). That was about the only time I saw it at KI last year. 

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IMO, The BIG question for this season is if trains will be filled, as they are being again at some of the southern parks. It's even more critical for operations at Cedar Point, but also KI to a slightly lesser extent. Without full trains, CP will almost certainly have to use access passes once again for the big 4 and not sell any daily Fast Lane. 

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My guess is many protocols will still be in place, particularly masks and social distancing. The vaccine will likely only just be getting mass distribution by spring and summer, so I wouldn't expect a return to anything resembling normalcy until fall at the earliest. Masks and social distancing have been proven to reduce the spread of the virus (we live in Michigan and recently were able to decrease our daily case load from 8,000 a day in November to about 1,000 a day this month just by mask protocols and shutting down again -- we're now slowly reopening, so we'll see what happens). Personally, I thought these were two areas where KI did a great job last year; wearing masks never felt like too much of an issue (we just quickly learned to wear lightweight cloth ones) and I think the park was set up really well for social distancing. We felt safe and, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe there has been a mass outbreak connected to a theme park. 

What I think you might see a pullback on are some of the other measures. For instance, now that the virus has been shown not to live on surfaces for a long time, I wonder if you'll see less of the shutting down for cleaning. Since KI stopped the reservation system in mid summer, my guess is you won't see that again, and hopefully they'll be back to normal operating hours (the biggest letdown for us last year was having to get everything done to be out of the park by closing time, which was like 7 or 8; I can't remember which). You may even see Soak City open back up. My guess is temperature checks will still remain, but I remember that was a quick nonissue last year. The park really handled it all well. 

My hope is that we'll see a park that runs like normal (normal hours, a standard calendar) but with the safety protocols of masks and social distancing. It's not "back to normal," but I think it will be a big step in the right direction. 

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7 hours ago, JimParker85 said:

IMO, The BIG question for this season is if trains will be filled, as they are being again at some of the southern parks. It's even more critical for operations at Cedar Point, but also KI to a slightly lesser extent. Without full trains, CP will almost certainly have to use access passes once again for the big 4 and not sell any daily Fast Lane. 

They could have filled the same group on Orion last year but chose not to.  Not golding my breath.  

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Just now, grsupercity said:

I went to parks last year that required them and some that did not require them. Parks like Mt Olympus and Adventureland did not require them and I did not feel any less safe then I did at a place like Kings Island. I think each person has their own feelings on if they need them or not

Those places are not a big chain like cf and SIX.  Easier to do what you want without bureaucracy.

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6 hours ago, cdubbs727 said:

My guess is many protocols will still be in place, particularly masks and social distancing. The vaccine will likely only just be getting mass distribution by spring and summer, so I wouldn't expect a return to anything resembling normalcy until fall at the earliest. Masks and social distancing have been proven to reduce the spread of the virus (we live in Michigan and recently were able to decrease our daily case load from 8,000 a day in November to about 1,000 a day this month just by mask protocols and shutting down again -- we're now slowly reopening, so we'll see what happens). Personally, I thought these were two areas where KI did a great job last year; wearing masks never felt like too much of an issue (we just quickly learned to wear lightweight cloth ones) and I think the park was set up really well for social distancing. We felt safe and, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe there has been a mass outbreak connected to a theme park. 

What I think you might see a pullback on are some of the other measures. For instance, now that the virus has been shown not to live on surfaces for a long time, I wonder if you'll see less of the shutting down for cleaning. Since KI stopped the reservation system in mid summer, my guess is you won't see that again, and hopefully they'll be back to normal operating hours (the biggest letdown for us last year was having to get everything done to be out of the park by closing time, which was like 7 or 8; I can't remember which). You may even see Soak City open back up. My guess is temperature checks will still remain, but I remember that was a quick nonissue last year. The park really handled it all well. 

My hope is that we'll see a park that runs like normal (normal hours, a standard calendar) but with the safety protocols of masks and social distancing. It's not "back to normal," but I think it will be a big step in the right direction. 

Temperature checks imo could be one of the things that could stick around for a while post pandemic just like the security screenings post 9/11. While it may not be the most effective at handling diseases, it could catch a potentially ill person if they have a fever. I would also expect cleaning the trains to stick around (not every 30 minutes, but maybe every few hours or every turn of shift like in the morning before opening, when the close shifts come in, and at night after close). I would also expect Soak City to open since other waterparks have opened and did just fine. I also think we should see seasonal events like Grand Carnivale, Summer Nights, Movie nights in Soak City, Haunt, and Winterfest return in some way since Tricks/Treats Fall Fest and Taste of the season (at other parks) proved we can hold special events during the pandemic with protocols in mind. Maybe we won't see the Grand Carnivale Parade or if we do, they'll have markers down for social distancing and could extend the parade route. Based on what the KI website says, they are still planning to hold special events, the exact lineup TBA: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/play/events?page=1

 

Measures such as masks, social distancing, and reduced capacity I expect to be loosened by the 2022 season in time for a very special 50th anniversary season. It would be nice if we can have a normal season in 2022 so that the park can hold a massive celebration. I feel bad for CP and Knott's who can't celebrate their anniversaries that big due to the pandemic. 

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I wonder if Kings Island is going to have more live entertainment this year. They really didn’t have any last year at the start of the season, and the shows they had later on were very limited. I know Valleyfair is hosting auditions for their live entertainment department right now, so I hope Kings Island also does the same. If Kings Island does have more live entertainment offerings this year, I only expect them to use the International Street Bandstand, the International Showplace, and the Festhaus. I know the Kings Island Theater is probably the best venue in the park, but I don’t see them offering indoor shows at least for the start of this year. Maybe they will offer indoor shows if Winterfest happens this year.

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