FUN&ONLY!

According to the park websites, Cedar Point, Canada’s Wonderland, Carowinds, and Kings Dominion are going to also have Halloween Haunt on at least Sundays. It also looks like these parks will have additional Winterfest operating days compared to Kings Island. I did not look at other Cedar Fair parks, but I think it is interesting that these parks are expanding their operating calendars while Kings Island seemingly isn’t. I don’t know what is driving these decisions, but I must admit I am a little disappointed. I am very eager to see Kings Island’s full fall and winter operating calendar and hours.

I am surprised Kings Dominion and Carowinds added those days to their calendars while Kings Island did not. Does anyone know when schools go back in Doswell and Charlotte? Also, I wonder if Kings Island is going to remain closed for the majority of September this year like they did pre pandemic. I know Kings Island makes a ton of money from park buyouts and group sales, but the weather is September is usually really nice, and it is a great time to be at the park.

In general, I feel like Kings Island is better staffed this season than years past. I know this wasn’t the case earlier in the season, but I think the wage increases convinced a lot of people to apply who wouldn’t have applied otherwise. At the beginning of the season, the park was moving people from different departments all over the place. LOL! When Rivertown Freestyle is basically open everyday now, that says something about staffing. Some of the midway games have been closed all season, but I think that was more of a cost-saving decision than not being able to find workers.

Why do you assume Kings Island will be getting a dive coaster next? I think there are some other great options that will be even better fits for the park. A dive coaster would be popular though.

The lines really aren’t too bad on the average Tuesday or Wednesday. Orion’s line also doesn’t get too long on most weekdays. That really goes for all rides. You can expect the lines to be 30 minutes or less on average. The rides that will have the longest waits are Flight of Fear and possibly Invertigo due to their low capacity. If the weather is really nice like in the 70, though, it may be pretty busy. The cooler it is, the busier it will be.

Do you think we will see an announcement regarding plans for Kings Island’s 50th anniversary. If so, when do you think it will occur? I think it depends on the scale of the celebration and if there is a new attraction. I assume if there is one it will be when Gold Passes go on sale.

Was this past Saturday the busiest day of the year?

I think it is a good idea to expand the fall operating calendar. I am not sure we will also see Thursdays added like at Cedar Point, but I would not be opposed. I am also really glad that The Tricks and Treats event seems like it is here to stay. I like it better than Great Pumpkin Fest because it is not just limited to one area of the park, and it seems like there is more to do (and not just for kids). I also hope we see a lot of entertainment offerings for Tricks and Treats, Halloween Haunt, and Winterfest. Maybe, just maybe, the Kings Island Theater and Festhaus will house shows once again. It would be cool if we see a Winterfest parade like the one Carowinds debuted in 2019.

I totally agree with this. I feel like most people prefer the front on Orion which is understandable, but the back row is my personal favorite. The drop is insane in the back row, and that final dive before the brake run is also really good in the back. I understand that you feel a greater sense of speed in the front, but I just can’t get enough of the back.

I misspoke. The theming on Kings Mills Antique Autos is luckily not in too bad of shape.

I agree that this is a real problem throughout Kings Island. Maintenance let Adventure Express’s theming deteriorate year after year, and they just fixed it this year. Mystic Timbers and Orion are Kings Island’s two newest rollercoasters, yet the theming upkeep has been minimal. Why pay for a custom IMAscore soundtrack if you aren’t going to play it? It is also worth noting that almost every single light doesn’t work on Banshee’ lighting package. In addition, while this doesn’t have to do with any rides, the Christmas lights lining the rooftops are in horrible condition. The lights on the Diamondback Trading Post, the Kings Island Theater, the Train Station, and parts of the Miami River Brewhouse are entirely out. I really hope Kings Island addresses these issues sooner rather than later.

I doubt this would be for a new ride, but a structure like this would look cool as a picnic pavilion or an eating area within the park.

I heard that Kings Island was having trouble keeping the store stocked. Squishmallows are incredibly popular, so it was probably hard to get orders in.

I agree that it seems like Adventureland did not run the their rapids ride up to the standard Cedar Fair and Six Flags run theirs. As far as I know, Intamin River Rapids rides in the Cedar Fair and Six Flags chains all have multiple towers located throughout the ride with employees that are watching the course at all times (and sometimes spraying guests). I know most rapids rides are run like this, but it is crazy if Adventureland didn’t have any employees watching along the course. I know their may be a few “blindspots” on White Water Canyon at Kings Island, but the course is still monitored pretty thoroughly. I also don’t mind the seatbelts on White Water Canyon at Kings Island. You can literally unlock it with one hand in two seconds. I do think all seatbelts on river rapids rides should be easy to undo in case of accidents like this.

In 2019, you were allowed to enter The Beast’s line right up until 10:00 PM. This year, you can still be in line for The Beast and ride after the fireworks, but you have to enter by a certain time.

I don’t really like this policy. I liked when you used to be able to enter the line up until 10:00 PM and ride after the fireworks. Orion closes the line at 10:00 PM, so why can’t The Beast do the same? The Beast’s line closed at 10:00 PM last year after all. 15 minutes doesn’t really make that big of a difference. It is one thing to try to have everyone off before the fireworks, but now they allow some people to ride after the fireworks as long as they are in line by 9:45 PM instead of park close.

Was this on Saturday? I guess that makes sense because of the larger fireworks display, but has this been the case every day?

People shouldn’t be saying the cashless policy prohibits them from using their cash. People who only carry cash, while it may be a small number these days, can still use their cash with the cash to card machines. I think this will greatly improve check-out at food and beverage locations as well as at retail locations. The only thing I see as a potential problem is there not being enough of the cash to card machines throughout the park. Kings Island said there are going to be five throughout the dry park and Soak City, but that doesn’t seem like enough. I feel like there needs to be like two cash to card machines in each area of the park. This is not necessarily because I think there are going to be a lot of people using them, but the people that do use them aren’t going to want to walk very far to get their card. This policy was inevitable, and with the introduction of Game Cards a few years back, this isn’t super surprising. I am curious, though, if cash will still be accepted as a form of payment at things like vending machines, the Game Card machines, the locker machines, or the White Water Canyon geysers. My guess is yes because cash wouldn’t actually be circulating within the park, but it would rather just be collecting in more machines. It would also be way too complicated to have someone get a cash card just to be able to then to get a Game Card. Also, this is kind of off-topic, but have the ticket booths been open this year? I know that they will probably only be accepting card payment soon, but I was just wondering.

Are you referring to when The Beast temporarily suspends its operations? Because I thought The Beast’s line remains open until 10:00 PM, and everyone can ride after the fireworks are completed and the ride area is inspected.

Orion has to be one of the safest rollercoasters at Kings Island, if not the world. It is a B&M, and from my understanding, B&M has had literally no safety incidents caused by their rides. I know most people on this forum know this, but unfortunately most members of the general public do not.

This is interesting. At Kings Island, a ride operator could work let’s say food and beverage or park services, but they wouldn’t be allowed to work anything that involves money. On the flip side, no other departments could work in rides. Also, at Kings Island, all employees are not allowed to play games as a guest at any Cedar Fair park. So even a Kings Island food and beverage employee would not be allowed to play games while visiting as a guest at Canada’s Wonderland. I believe this policy is the same throughout the chain.

Let’s not act like this is anything new. In 2019 when most people bought their season passes, Soak City was a free for all every day. People enjoyed the reservations this year because Soak City was less crowded, but now we are back to normal crowded days. I agree that Kings Island should have given people a notice yesterday that reservations were being dropped, though, but it probably would have encouraged more people to show up. Ideally, they would give a notice like a week or two out saying reservations are no longer required after a certain date. Kings Island was probably eager to drop the reservations as soon as possible. Also, this is still a year like no other. While the pandemic may be subsiding, the effects are still being felt from it. Camp Cedar is out of Kings Island’s control, the staffing shortages were out of Kings Island’s control, and the reservations were likely never going to be permanent. If we give credit where credit is due, Kings Island has resolved their staffing issues and Kings Island has brought back their late closings. How many other amusement parks are open until 10:00 PM every night? Cedar Point and Kings Island are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head.

This is interesting. At Kings Island, it is not that uncommon for let’s say a ride operator to get sent to food and beverage or park services when those departments are understaffed. Some positions, however, can’t just be filled by any employee because additional training is required.

To be fair, Soak City would have been packed no matter when they decided to stop limiting capacity. As long as it is a hot day, Soak City will be crowded. I am surprised they chose today to do away with reservations, but I know Kings Island has some passholders who can’t stand the reservation system and have been desperately waiting for it to be removed. Unfortunately, Kings Island can’t please both the people wanting the capacity limit dropped and the people in favor of it It was inevitable, though, that they would drop the reservations and capacity limit. Again, today may have not been the best day to do that, though, and it would be nice if Kings Island gave guests a heads up. The larger issue is that Soak City really can’t handle the crowds it gets. Unfortunately, Kings Island has no incentive to up its offering because there really isn’t much competition. Ideally, Kings Island would GREATLY expand Soak City to accommodate the crowds better like California’s Great America did. I am hopeful, though, that Kings Island will invest more into their waterpark soon as Mike Koontz has stated that he wants to add something to Soak City and to Planet Snoopy according to @KIghostguy’s book. I really hope that they rename and retheme Soak City to something more authentic.