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I believe the new cup size will put the park in line with what Holiday World provides. As you’ve mentioned however, Holiday World doesn’t have a time limit for how often you can get a drink. At this rate the fact they are willing to giveaway the drink plan with season passes they should switch to Holiday World’s model.

No Ice, No Carbonation, Smaller Cups: Visitors to Kings Dominion and Cedar Point are beginning to notice a new cup size when they use their All Season Drink Plan. The new cups are noticeably smaller at approximately 10-12oz, compared to the former 16oz cups. Could these be coming to more Six Flags parks as the chain continues to slash budgets? As inevitable as it is I really hope these smaller cups don't come to Kings Island. I can always get another drink after 15 minutes, but the drink plan cups have always been this size. What is the reason behind getting smaller cups besides wanting to save another 2¢ per cup? The old ones were a good size to get through a meal. I wish Six Flags would at least be more consistent if they're going to keep downgrading the guest experience. I bet they'll save the tariffs excuse for when they can't deliver their 2026 ride promises. Political unrest would be an interesting excuse though, considering there hasn't been any in the parks recently. "Due to the sudden increase in the cost of rides and roller coaster parts, we were unable to create new experiences for our guests in 2026. As North America's largest chain of regional amusement parks Six Flags is committed to entertaining our guests and shareholders. Please enjoy our existing attractions as we make way for new expansions coming in 2027."

Last week as we ascend the second chain lift on The Beast. The people behind me said.... Person 1: "We are going up another lift." (As the helix comes into view) Person 2: "Oh yeah, this is the triple spin." Person 1: "Oh, yeah!" I chucked to myself, but when we hit the brake run he said it again. Person 2: "That triple spin is so intense."

KI being able to reinvest all of its own profit back into the park would be such an interesting scenario that I'd be all for. No debt, no obligation to shareholders, just being able to do what benefits the guests and the park long-term. While being a part of a larger chain does have its resources and benefits, a chain burdened with debt and private equity looking over the shoulder seems to do us as a park more harm than good.

If they had the money, I'd almost rather the parks install the RFID-reader soda fountains and invest in the corresponding cups instead of hiring more security. I've read that the cost is only slightly higher per batch for the cups, and the machines would (presumably) only have higher costs for installation. That and seasonal maintenance may be cheaper overall rather than hiring loss prevention security at each drink stand. Some Six Flags parks have also been installing pressure plates at the exits of each dining/drink stand so the gate can only be opened from inside the line. Kings Island needs these (with suitable ADA-compliant activators as well). I think Six Flags hasn't installed these at KI yet is because they don't currently see it as an investment-worthy park, and they feel it is easier to make the short term guest experience worse than to immediately do something to fix the issue in the long term. (That's not to say Six Flags doesn't invest in KI, more so they see it as a park that already has a "just fine" experience and doesn't need a lot of investment). The restaurants are a different story, especially if guests are now finding ways to steal food. I'm not normally one to rag on people who steal food, but to me there's a difference between stealing bread from a grocery store and stealing a meal from a restaurant (generalized examples). I have a feeling that one reason why people (mainly children) do the water cup trick is because their parents don't buy them a drink plan. There are those who can't afford it and then there are those who don't want to pay for it. The shift to credit-card-only operations might also help this problem. Some parents just aren't going to go with their kids to get a drink, and most don't want to hand their card to someone who might lose/abuse it like they would have done with a $5 or $10 bill. It doesn't help that there are only 6 cash-to-card kiosk locations throughout the entire park. All of this makes you wonder what Kings Island would look like if it were part of a company that wasn't hemorrhaging money and didn't have 40 other parks to look after...

This right here is a prime example of part of the problem People don't care because they see the item/product in question as "just" this or "just" that and blame the applicable company for not doing enough to stop it. People NEED to care. If everyone cared even a little, I can promise you there would be significantly LESS theft. I'm not saying that there would be zero theft. But if people actually cared about theft, no matter what it is that is being taken, there wouldn't be such a rampant issue everywhere. I am completely fatigued by this apathy problem in our society. It's cool not to care? I will never understand that. Everyone should care. Theft is bad for everyone and ultimately comes crashing down on the honest folk in some way or another which then in turn ruins an experience/opportunity. You can't catch everyone. I would know from first hand experience. But we can, as a collective, call people out. I will say that from the rooftops. If you see it happening? Call them out. Make an example of them if staff won't step in. At the very least they will be seen in the act and it will, inevitably, catch up to them.

I actually had that very thought that they could have had a premium seating option for Friday and Saturday utilizing the IR. Could have made it a whole package including food/drinks/snacks, a souvenir of some kind and of course the best seat in the house. It definitely would have sold out and probably been worth whatever the upcharge would have been to be in AC, away from the insane crowds and had the best viewing experience available.

^That mentality contributes to the problem - I guess you steal if the odds are in your favor? Sounds like victim shaming on a corporate level...Blame the park for the theft... You realize retail loses BILLIONS annually to theft even with loss prevention personnel. Companies spend millions on cyberand still get hacked. And sadly it is a level higher than the companies - the law is in favor of the criminal. Watch what happens when a store loss prevention employee touches or tries to physically stop the thief... No place is immune from theft. People get creative no matter how much restriction is put in place. Could the park do more - yes - could the guests do better - yes. Like I said, the park must feel that the cost to prevent is higher than the loss due to theft. Still doesn't make it right to steal. What we may see is removing self serve drink stations and requiring the employees to fill them. That would stop a lot of it. The moral/ethical compass is completely out of whack right now and using KI as an example people seem to be perfectly content with the stealing cause pop is just pop and they are a billion+/year company... We see the same arguments when someone posts about a big screen TV being stolen from Best Buy or a generator from Home Depot and ignore the lost prevention personnel commands and people say they are a billion/yr company so no big deal.. End of rant lol https://capitaloneshopping.com/research/shoplifting-statistics/#:~:text=Stores lost an estimated %2445.0,cost retailers %24461.86 in 2020.

The collapsible cup will be your friend at Epic Universe. We were very surprised and happy to see so many free water refill stations in the queues. Our only complaint was how slow the water flowed out of them haha.

Today we visited Six Flags Darien Lake with our All Park Pass. The park is in the middle of no where, and was about a 30 minute drive from our hotel in Buffalo. We were in the area to see the falls, and Lake Ontario. We arrived at 11:05am five minutes after opening, and probably were one of 30 cars in the parking lot. We had no problems scanning in with our Kings Island Gold Passes, although the ticket lady admired mine for a moment. The weather was calling for thunderstorms around 2 so I wanted to make sure to ride, Ride of Steel first. This park I did a little research but did not look at the map. We quickly went towards the Ride of Steel, and found the entrance to Predator on the way. In all we rode all the roller coasters, and Moose on the Loose. The park is quite small, and reminded me of Michigan's Adventure. A tad neglected, a tad nostalgic, and a lot of fun. 1. Ride of Steel This was my favorite ride, it is an Intamin coaster that flies through its course. It is a very forceful coaster with good pops of air, and strong helixes that made me gray out. It does have weird straight piece of track that gets the ride over a lake. I rode this twice, and it was a blast. 2. MindEraser This ride was a lot of fun. It was intense and whippy. It had new restraints and was very smooth. I had a lot of fun on this ride, and wish I rode it again. 3. Tantrum SFDL newest coaster, it was quick and whippy as well. Very short, but packed a punch. If it was longer may be number 2 on my list. 4. Viper Rode like Vortex of my teenage years. Fun, and brought back a lot of memories. Those old arrow restraints sure do hurt now days. Is it old age or new coaster restraints are so much better. 5 . Predator A fun woodie with titan track on some of it. Parts that do not have it are extremely rough. Runs by the lake and is fun, but the rough ride knocks to to fifth place. 6. Boomerang I am not a fan of these. I rarely ride Invertigo, and this was rough. 7. Motocross was not opened while we were there. Moose on the Loose was a lot of fun. Everyone rode it and laughed through the track. Highly recommened it. Overall I enjoyed my time at Darien Lake. We were able to ride everything we wanted in 2 hours. With our meal plans and drink plans unavailable we did not participate in those activities. The park is small, and easy to navigate. However I would not spend more than a day here or make it my main objective in the area. If in the area again I would love to catch a few rides on Ride of Steel and Minderaser. The staff were very friendly, and the operations were one train, but quicker than expected after slow dispatches at SFOG, and Great Adventure. The park ranks in my Michigan's Adventure, Dorney Park tier. Which is enjoyable but glad it s not my home park. Bansheelover tiers Home Park Tier (Best of the Best I've Been to) 1. Kings Island 2. Cedar Point 3. Carowinds Visit Again Tier (Fun but not the best) 1. Kings Dominion 2. Six Flags Grand Adventure 3. Six Flags over Georgia Glad I went, but glad not my home park Tier 1. Michigan's Adventure 2. Dorney Park 3. Six Flags Darien Lake

I think they'd let the park go if given enough cash, especially right now if they're looking for ways to pay down debt. But the number would probably make it hard to justify the purchase price for whoever purchased the park. I assume it would at least have to be in the $500-600m range, and even then, the buyer probably wouldn't be all cash and would have to finance some of their own debt.

An issue I could see rearing its ugly head would be that a lot of the higher-up people who knew what they were doing at Kings Island have either been laid off or moved to higher positions in the Six Flags chain. Unless those people come back to the park, or new ones come in that care about more than just profit, the park may not look as good as everyone would like. A new KECO would be very nice. It could bring parks like Canada's Wonderland, Carowinds, Kings Dominion, Fiesta Texas, and Kings Island (and more) back into the "theme park with awesome thrill rides" category. Too bad Six Flags would probably never let Kings Island go unless it were pried from their cold, dead, corporate hands.

Yes, I've been in one of those private parties a Saturday night and it did offer fireworks views. It really is a great premium feeling space. I understand they do have quite a few private events, but I think they could stand to utilize the space more often, it's dark a little too often for a space they already have paid for.

From my understanding it does get booked out for private parties. I'm sure there is a time frame of when that can be done and not a last-minute thing. So, if it isn't booked with a certain timeframe, it should be an automatic punt as an offering to the general public on busy weekends for fireworks like you've mentioned. Offer a Dessert buffet, fountain drinks and a cash bar.

I honestly think they could offer the fireworks viewing experience every Saturday. Pump the music into the International Restaurant. Heck, if they don't have the people I'd even organize this for free for them for a year just to show them it would turn a profit and they'd finally use the IR for more events

That's exactly what I get lol! Couldn't agree more. GO HERE!!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: these suggestions were when TT2 was down and Siren's Curse wasn't there I'll break it down for you so you don't have to read an essay lol: Get there for Early Entry and maybe even before that. Early entry is a perfect opportunity to get lots of rides in. REMEMBER: Early Entry at CP is an hour, not 20 minutes like KI. Early Entry coasters are GateKeeper, Millie, and Iron Dragon. As soon as they let you in, get to GateKeeper. We rode it two or three times because it was a walk on. Recommend left-side back row or right-side front row After your two or three GateKeeper rides, walk fast to Millie. Pass Iron Dragon. Not that great, not worth the ERT. We got two rides in on Millie, but it depends on how fast you walk. You want to be done with Millie between 9:30-9:45. After Millie, you now should have 4-6 rides done (3 GateKeeper, 2 Millie for me). After that, again walk fast to Maverick and wait for it to open. Ride Maverick twice, and head over to Steel Vengeance. Ride that twice if the line isn't long. After Steel Vengeance we had 9 rides done by 10:30! We needed some water after that lol And then after Steel Vengeance, maybe do a Magnum ride or Cedar Creek Mine Ride if you want. Your early morning execution was a success if you made it this far! We did it one Friday morning (May 17 of last year) and did everything I just listed. After this, it's up to you on what you want to do next. The lines will be longer at this point, but the lines are usually worth it for these world-class roller coasters. Now this doesn't account for TT2 or Siren's Curse. I haven't been there this year yet, so does someone know what has higher capacity TT2 or Siren's Curse? I'd probably say you have three options after riding Millie for ERT: Do what I did before TT2 or Siren's Curse and head to Maverick/Steel Vengeance. They get really long lines, get them out of the way first Head over to TT2 and try and get on that just as the park opens. The ride tends to break down a lot, so getting on it early can be good. BUT-you run the risk of it not being open right at 10:00 kinda like FoF at KI. It's a high-risk high-reward situation. The same could be said for going to Siren's Curse. Somewhat lower capacity. They're still working out the kinks and the maintenance issues.Unreliable just like TT2 at the moment. Once again, high-risk high-reward. You won't be the only one going here though. If you do decide to go to Siren's Curse or TT2 after Millie, I'd recommend riding the other next. There's no point in running back to Maverick or Steel Vengeance, the people have already gotten back there. You'll have to wait it out on those lines. Hope you have a great trip, and let me know if you have any further questions!

I've had lovely times at Castaway Bay, Breakers and Express hotel. While I agree with what was mentioned above, it can be quite pricy and can definitely double the price of the trip. You'll have a great time at the Express, and if you really enjoy it, could always come back again someday to experience the Breakers. As for the park itself, obviously the two new (one mostly new) attractions get quite the wait, but also people entering the park tend to flock to the rides near the main entry of the park. So obviously get your early ride times in, but my recommendation is afterwards, head to the back of the park. Steel Vengeance, Maverick, and Millenium Force tend to garner longer lines. Hit things like Valravn, Raptor, Bluestreak, and Wild Mouse later in the day, as their wait will normally decrease over time as people will spread out to the back of the park. Early Entry includes: -GateKeeper -Iron Dragon -Millenium Force -Top Thrill 2* (TT2 was added and then removed from the early entry lineup list, as they had issues getting it consistently open at 9. HOWEVER, it's recently been opening between 9-9:15, giving some good opportunities to ride in the morning). Also note that CP early entry starts at 9, not 9:30 like KI. So don't miss out on those extra 30 minutes

Q2 is in the books. It is the last of the quarters that involve attendance comparison from legacy parks. If combined attendance is up across the chain, will investors be happy? However, from anecdotal social media references, attendance seems to be down. I predict this will be attributed to: 1. Canadian wildfire smoke. 2. Storms. 3. Extreme heat. 4. Labor ( this is self inflicted). 5. Consumer unrest r/t tariffs and or political unrest. In the recent past, if the quarter has been successful, they put out press releases within days to tout good news. ( As an aside, interesting that they could report chain wide numbers within days, but they couldn't figure out how to make add ons work between different Cedar Fair parks). With the stock price performing as it is, I am sure they are looking for anything they can to try and bolster it.

if you’re able to cancel your stay at the express hotel at no cost, I would. You’d be better off at or the Holiday Inn, or Castaway bay for the right price. Backbeat BBQ is the best restaurant in the park in my opinion. The brisket, Mac & cheese with cornbread is delicious! My second favorite location has to be The Grand Pavilion, the menu changes so I can’t tell you exactly what to get but the food is good and the view of the lake is even better. I have All Season Fast Lane so I might not be the person to tell you which ride to ride first. I’d imagine TT2 has the longest line in the park, followed by Sirens Curse. So hit up one of those first.

Has anybody tried the specialty milkshakes at Ralph's (adjacent to Jukebox), if so what flavor was it and were they good? I'm thinking about trying one soon.

A version of Bands in Residence at CP would be great to see at Soak City since they don't have entertainment. Other parks including Dorney Park and Valleyfair have done this.

I believe the only thing the park can do is raise the price of season passes. Giving away the gate may have something to do with what you experienced. The amount of entitlement of people is just unbelieveable. It's definitely a sign of the times that civility seems to have taken a break in our current climate. In my humble opinion, just as it comes from parents, it comes from the top. Just my 2 cents.

^While that all makes sense, sadly, until they estimate the loss is greater than the cost of loss prevention, they will let it continue. Speaking of, did you see the FB post where someone was calling out a mom that had her kid steal pizza at Festhaus and the comments were either trolling and/or thieves themselves as so many jumped on the OP and telling her to mind her own business and it is just a pizza. This is a business, not a charity. Theft is theft and will result in higher prices.

I know they wouldn't do this amidst the budget cuts, but man do I wish they would hire actual loss prevention associates. Plain clothes at that. Before I got into law enforcement I did LP for Best Buy and it was always so much fun catching people who thought no one was watching. Because if I learned anything at all during my time doing LP, it's not "just" a Coke, its not "just" a pack of stickers or some other small item. It's not "just". Every small thing that someone takes the liberty of stealing will find its way in cost back on honest consumers. And this is why we see the silly song and dance about the water cups. This small yet convenient act of kindness is now made more inconvenient due to the dishonest folks stealing pop. It is, in fact, a big deal. And with how affordable it is now to get a drink wristband or season pass add on, why the heck does anyone feel the need to steal? I realize there will never be a clear answer to this problem amongst many others, but wow. Also, this theft of time/product is applicable to line jumping. We already know this has been a major issue for years now and seems to be getting arguably worse. They need to have posted security rounds in and around Orion as I am sure most of you are aware there is one spot in particular line jumpers think they are being so smart about. When one enters Fast Lane line, right inside the hanger, people think they are being swift cutting the line from that point. I have seen it way too many times. If they can't have a physical body making rounds in that general area, they need to install surveillance cameras there and any other problem area. If the park doesn't want to pay adequate bodies to provide regular physical security, they could just do cameras and dispatch someone as necessary to those areas. I realize that might make too much sense and sometimes, if I have learned anything through my career, things that make too much sense don't often get implemented

The new ads/sponsorships don't bother me too much since they just seem to be popping up around the midways and under some ride ID signs (Delirium — Presented by Snickers). If they start filling up the park to the point where everything has an ad, and where ride cars start to be wrapped in logos, then I'll be a lot more upset. If this is what Six Flags has to do for a few years to offset some of the budget cuts, then so be it. I'd rather see ads than have to experience another ride closure (which is not a guaranteed possibility either way). Did anyone else notice that Kings Island's Star Spangled Nights (presented by M&M's) logo says "Night" while Carowinds' Star Spangled Nights (presented by M&M's) logo says "Nights"? It's not really an issue, but it makes me wonder if this was a quality control (proofreading) issue or an issue with initial scheduling that would've only had one night of fireworks. The "'s" was not corrected for the event step-and-repeat outside the front gate either.

Are Snickers bars on the dining plan?

"I'm reporting you to the MIB" ~ someone in response to one of Krazeb's lines (IIRC, "it's time for you to visit ours") on FoF, 2004 Also, on Face/Off, I heard someone scream "THE SKY HAD A BABY!" a la SpongeBob. And on Congo Falls, I heard a guy scream about his Nike Air Flightposites being ruined from after the drop to when we disembarked.

Breaking news...

He’s ridden over 4,000 times in a week. That’s impressive!

There is a better chance of the Eiffel Tower getting an RMC conversion than there is of this guy having 43,000 rides on The Beast. If he was a true story, the PR folks the park had in place from April 14, 1979 when the ride opened to October 15, 2017 would have known about him and he’d have been international news. It wasn’t until 2019 that he showed up wearing the t-shirts. Nice guy? Yes. Over 43,000 rides on The Beast? No.