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This is about giving our renewing season passholders what they've been asking for: something for renewing since there is not a price break in the fall between new and renewal. We're also going to be giving our guests that renew their season pass before November 2 something else they've been asking for with an exclusive preview night before the park opens for the 2015 season.

Hmmm. Hartless.

Kings Island has been nominated! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHlwjS2l5C0&list=UUlNRHZQ8IwMm0X0i2Fb_bFg

According to Darren Rovell: "The national chapter of the ALS Association raised $23.5M in 2013. The Bucket Challenge in 22 DAYS has raised $22.9 million." https://twitter.com/darrenrovell/status/501716895733936128

Shaving heads, applying sunscreen, and putting on lipstick didn't directly make those involved more aware of the respective diseases, but it still raised awareness for the three causes.

Huh? When had you last heard of ALS before this? Not raise awareness? That's silly.

As well as 3 other parks you could say Holiday World "competes" with: Dollywood, Six Flags St. Louis, and Silver Dollar City- all 3 along with Kings Island are not too far from where Holiday World is. However, there is one noticeable omission...did Kentucky Kingdom already do this, or is Holiday World basically saying "We are nominating every park we feel can compete with us and that does NOT include you" and thus "slapping" KK in the face? (A google search for Kentucky Kingdom Ice Bucket challenge returned no positive results)

I found the culprit! #jonathan did it before he skipped town. Sly noodle. Via Google Earth Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Aaaaaannnnnnndddd... Leaked.

i thought that it was a cardinal rule of taking screen shots that your phone be below 10% battery?

Pretty sweet logo. If this is the real deal i wonder how the theming (if any) would bee....... See what i did there? Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Not to keep pulling the negative nancy deal today..But I wouldn't be surprised if KI tried to make another world record with this deal.. But why people dump water over their heads for this..Sigh..just donate to ALS or DMD..and maybe learn about it. So many people I know already have done the ALS challenge..and have no clue what ALS is..or donate for that matter as well. I hate to say it, but this will sadly probably end up like the Kony 2012 crap..Big support worldwide for awhile..then poof, gone. That disappoints me more than anything. One time donor, never do it again, just like blood donors..

You cant please everyone, so you gotta please yourself.... Seriously, I know it may be a very busy time in the FL queue on the Sundays, but it is free. Its a perk they dont have to offer. Are we that jaded as a group that its sometimes hard to see that something like this has to be seen in a negative light, instead of a slight positive? In the past what was a perk for renewing in the fall? Cheaper prices? Maybe CF as a company is attempting to do good to its customer base (while also ensuring people buy again for next year). As for the bring a friend cheap days. Yes they can be seen to pack the park. But on the flip side, its sort of nice to offer up a trip to KI for the cheap to a few friends. Maybe its age or whatever, but my friends/family and I dont mind the busy crowds on those days. We are not there to "ride as many times as humanely possible" but more there to enjoy the day. If we only get 1 ride on each ride, then thats new memories. Looking back at this season, I dont remember how many times I rode Banshee, Diamondback, Beast, or anything else. I do remember taking my neice on The Beast (and her terrified look), riding Banshee front row with my buddy, getting my mom on The Bat after almost 10 years of no coasters, watching my son's face light up when his car went down the hill on Peanuts 500, etc. I couldnt tell you how long I waited in a certain line, etc.

You (and Malem) hit the nail on the head. Fortunately, you see a lot of the benefit of this program (if you choose to participate). You get a free Fast Lane Plus (and more?). The truth is, the company missed some Q2 metrics. They NEED to make it up in Q3. There essentially is no Q4 for Cedar Fair. If you purchase the pass on Thursday you: 1. Have just added to their Q3 metrics 2. Are almost guaranteeing another Q3 visit (using your FL Plus) 3. Your extra Q3 visit is on a day that many wouldn't typically visit (Sunday during Haunt) 4. Added value to your season pass (Don't forget, some simply choose not to renew) This plan is almost brilliant. It's very mutually beneficial. I don't think it erodes the value in FL Plus either since the intended demographic is for one time visitors, not necessarily season pass holders. I suppose the only disservice would be to those who actually spent the $90 or whatever for the FL Plus on those Sundays. I think Haunt will be a good example of a "forest through the trees" situation. Cedar Fair has to make up ground in the coming weeks and months. Kings Island and Cedar Point already pack 'em to the gills during the Haunt nights. If we start seeing extreme discounts and the oh-so-desperate bring-a-friend-cheap days during Haunt nights, it's going to really erode the experience. Many people who visit will perceive Haunt as a time when the park is packed and you can't do anything, so they won't come back next year. I could see some of the parks in the chain doing that, but I'd like to think Kings Island wouldn't make that mistake.

To promote season pass renewals in Q3, to promote visits on days when business is light, and to make customers think that they're getting a really good deal.

I think it's pretty amazing that charity donations have gone viral. The only downside I see is that the response has been so massive every charity (and for-profit) is going to be trying to come up with as effective of an "infection" soon.

Very glad to see a preview night (re)added. Passholders get a special event, and the park gets practice with actual guests before Opening Day.

I like the (alleged) Fury 325 logo more than the (alleged) Centurion logo.

To my mind, and I can be a negative nellie, this is GREAT! Look at all the money donated in the last three weeks, many of those likely people who, without this going viral as it has, would have never in a million years visited the ALS website, or donated money. You take that, add three people to it, it grows exponentially. Again, any publicity is good publicity in this case, if people really know what is going on or not.

From what I understand, if you're nominated for the challenge you can either dump ice water on your head, or you can donate to ALS. With all of these "Challenge" videos going around the internet, I'm wondering if anyone is donating at all? Everyone lately has seemed so thrilled with all these ALS challenge videos, but to me it would seem better to not see so many videos of people dumping ice on their heads. That would mean more people would be donating the money. I understand part of this is to raise awareness and all, but if you look at the options of the challenge, it would seem that the more videos you see, the less people are donating. Just a thought.

Glad to hear they will have a preview day/night next year. Will have to renew my pass before the end of the season. Although, depending when the park opens next year, I may not be able to make the preview day/opening day, if it happens to coincide with my wedding/honey moon.

I'm sure they'll do a lot to pack people into the park on Sundays this year. Bring a friend, ticket discounts, etc. I'm sure the FL Plus will be put to better use than what is thought. Plus, hey, with FL+ you can get one of those elusive Firehawk rides. It's almost human nature. You give an inch, they take a mile.

Now that sounds like an incentive to renew. I kind of hope it stays that way, exclusive to those that renew prior to Nov 2 (I would be doing so either way).

So, if you take the tweet literally, it says those that renew on Thursday get the Fast Lane Plus - is that offer only valid on a renewal this Thursday or is it valid if you renew anytime between then and the end of the operating season? And I do believe/agree the perk will cause more harm than good - it has been duly noted/witnessed/experienced by members on this forum that pass holders come out of the woodwork for "free stuff" - some of the longest waits of the season for Banshee was on exclusive ride time for pass holders; reported almost 2 hour lines for free food at Soak City event, etc. We may see the Fast Lane lines be longer than the general public line on Sundays in the fall! It will probably turn the pass holders that are not fans of Fast Lane into even bigger haters; and could potentially tick off those that do not have a pass that purchase a Fast Lane for a Sunday in the Fall and experience Fast Lane lines longer than the non-Fast Lane lines and cause them to never want to visit again as they would not see the advantage of a Fast Lane perk! We all know that even with a low attendance, folks still purchase Fast Lane. Take today for example - in many instances I would follow a Fast Lane person into the respective general public ride line and get on same train as them and even once ahead of them! Another problem I see - are the "free" Fast Lane Plus wristbands for renewals included in the allotted/supposed 20% cap of Fast Lane passes sold each day based on historical attendance numbers? If so, what happens if more than 20% of the pass holders wait until the last operating Sunday to redeem and are then denied the free perk. And if the free perk is not part of the 20% cap, then potentially you could see the abovementioned problems of a larger percentage of Fast Lane holders to non-holders. Now if the perk is only valid if the passes are renewed this Thursday, then I don't think it would be as big of a deal as I don't think the entire renewal population would even know about the renewal offer and even if they do, would probably procrastinate on it. But if the perk is extended to a renewal anytime between Thursday and the end of the season, look out!

I was part of KI's Ice Bucket Challenge today at work ( ) and to be honest, I didn't know much about ALS before the challenge. At that point, the only thing I knew was that it is also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease (because of a baseball computer game I played when I was younger) and that I thought it caused paralysis (which upon further research, it turns out I was correct). I saw some family members and Facebook friends taking the Ice Bucket Challenge and checked out a video my aunt shared about the man who started this challenge. His name is Pete Frates and was diagnosed with ALS in March 2012. Check out this video for more info: http://nesn.com/2014/08/pete-frates-fight-against-als-that-inspired-viral-movement-featured-on-sportscenter-video/. EDIT: Also, this site explains what ALS is: http://www.alsa.org/about-als/what-is-als.html

Don I would just like to say thank you for this. I know this isn't all you, but I would like to thank everyone who works at KI. You guy really don't hear that enough.

I think for something to go viral, it has to be unique. If donations drop again next year for ALS, that would unfortunate, but one good year can really help promote research to last a few years. I have many friends participating in this. Many who I know never knew or even thought of ALS before this challenge.

Loving the color scheme of that track, very neat!

I won't be needing a season pass next year since I'll have a Kings Island employee ID for admission instead....

^^ I believe the challenge was started by a high school student who is in the mid stage of ALS as a way to collect money for a cure. edit: 29 year old in stages of ALS http://www.mtv.com/news/1900335/ice-bucket-challenge-origin/

This is about giving our renewing season passholders what they've been asking for: something for renewing since there is not a price break in the fall between new and renewal. We're also going to be giving our guests that renew their season pass before November 2 something else they've been asking for with an exclusive preview night before the park opens for the 2015 season. Boom, this is almost exactly what I posted. Just a way for the park to say "hey, thanks for being awesome. Continue to be awesome." I feel some on here would complain if the park gave you a $10 voucher to use on any food item by saying that it doesnt cover a full combo.....

I love the idea of perks, but they are really only as free as Holiday World's drinks. Love the gift horse expression. Here's a classic, "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.", (double negatives aside).

"Doesn't appeal to me, but hey - have fun," sounds like your take on it, based on your previous posts. Perfectly acceptable point of view in my opinion.

Fast Lane Plus may be pretty much useless on a fall Sunday, but remember that the park is in no way obligated to give us anything with the renewal. So don't complain about it, but instead accept it for what it is: free stuff. Or as the saying goes, "don't look a gift horse in the mouth." As for the preview night, cool! I will definitely be there.

The preview night is a great idea...well done there.

According to one of the workers at the Carousel, it broke again but is being worked on - no date or anticipated schedule known though.

Wow, Fast Lane to use on a Sunday in the fall! Oh boy, I get to use the 3 minute line instead of the 5 minute line...

Nothing's free. They're running a business, not a charity. What you want to look for is 'mutually beneficial' - which this is.Absolutely, I hope you didn't misunderstand me. It would be ridiculous for me to expect them to operate like a charity. It's good economics to create value and that seems like what they're doing. I think the pass preview is smart. They have a probably larger than usual season pass base coming off the Banshee debut. They are taking steps to keep them. They know that some may get lost over the winter. Season pass holders are being shown that they are appreciated and valuable through these perks.

I totally agree about Action Zone being re-themed to Adventure Village. However, I think some of Oktoberfest could be absorbed into the new Adventure Village as well (I was thinking the pathway with Slingshot and Adventure Express). I personally like Action Zone/Oktoberfest the way they are for the most part, but if it had to change, I would definitely like to see the Adventure Village name come back. Oh, and Goetta at Kings Island would be amazing!

They read the sites so if I don't like something or won't make use of it I will give my opinion on it. I don't have to just accept it and be happy with it.

^

I don't think people on here are saying that they don't like the deal. Most are simply observing that the company didn't perform up to what was expected, and this is the clear result. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Some people don't have the extra cash to renew in the fall. I usually wait till I get my tax refund in February to renew my Platinum Pass. So it has nothing to do with wanting to spend more money it's just the way it is sometimes. Plus purchasing in the fall ensures we do not see another story on the news the following year about some kid who had a junior pass and grew and was asked to pay the difference for an adult pass! Many reasons why folks don't renew in the fall - available funds is high on the list; as would be not knowing if your interests would be the same the following year; maybe you are contemplating a job change or move; maybe you feel worn out of KI after visiting so many times this year; and then just plain ole procrastination! But if it waters down the Fast Lane line such that its line is of equal size or larger than the non-Fast Lane line, then it probably has done more harm than good. Inevitably there will be someone that didn't get to use the Fast Lane perk this year (either park met quota for day or every Sunday is horrible weather or something else) and then we will hear the complaints again. Just look at this forum or the park's Facebook page with complaints about the free food exclusive event at Soak City this year. Personally, I haven't bought Fast Lane and I am more in line with your thinking. Some of my best memories are standing in the long lines and talking with friends. However it is (well potentially was now!) nice to know that Sundays in fall could be the ride days due to lower crowds. With it being season pass holders, I can't see the per cap spending increase in the fall, but the perk may increase attendance. Personally, I think the price of the pass is incentive enough and all the perk needed to purchase. If they were to add anything, I would like to see them continue with items that will hopefully encourage in-park spending by pass holders, such as meal deals, discounts, etc.

Hmm... Is it possible to see Millennium Force from Lake Erie Eagles? Kinda... You can vaguely see the turnaround that sits over Dinosaurs Alive, but even that is tough. That midway is a lot busier than it used to be and visibility of other parts of the park has decreased a bit. That said, it's a massive improvement. That midway is awesome.

The Bat didn't exist in 2013.

Boo. Only for use on Sunday, when the perk isn't normally needed. Horrible, just horrible. I do not understand the willingness to give the house away, for a perk that will cause more harm than good.

Not to mention, "What IS in that water?" Terp, who doesn't take baths with 20,000 people, many of whom desperately needed one, nor does he swim in toilets.

Teenage mutant ninja family Sent from my Nexus 5 using tapatalk.