Outdoor Man

Don't mean to always be a "complainer" on the state of the park in 2026, but here goes again. Sat along the fountains tonight. I don't think they're on a "program" anymore.... and it appears that 22 fountain jets aren't operating. In addition, there are weeds in the mulched areas in the grass area between iStreet and the fountains. Also, the Carousel. You know, perhaps the oldest attraction in the park celebrating 100 years this season, there appear to be more lights out on the pavilion roof than work. Kings Island management: these two things should be your showcase to people entering and exiting the park, and they look like an afterthought.

Next year... will be our 21st consecutive season as Annual Pass Holders, plus a handful of years before. We got food at Chicken Shack. If we didn't have meal plans it would have cost $26+ for each entree and drink. If we were paying cash, it would have been returned several times. Food cold, fries kind of stale, eating area messy, employees never give eye contact, rarely smile (heaven forbid), etc. I know management has a read on the various sites- our kids are grown now. We're free agents after this season. The lack of attention to the basics may cause us to spend our money elsewhere. There is a WIDE gap between the areas that do things well and the areas that absolutely do not. Ride Ops seem good this year. Food Service and Park cleanliness have been terrible. Don't even get me started on the restrooms (Festhaus, I'm looking at you....). I know the park isn't responsible for this in particular, the water quality is awful. The water in Mason is terrible, and by proxy- so to is the water at KI. I don't know the answer here- but. I'll give the park a gigantic "pass" on the lack of flowers planted in certain areas. Parents seem unphased when their kids walk all over places where they shouldn't be. Guests, clean up after yourself. Kings Island.... staff these areas or install "Cleaning Wipes" stations so guests can do it and not feel like they need to rinse off with Chlorox. It was just 4 short years ago in 2022 (50th Anniversary) where I'd say most areas of the park, from an operations level, were firing on ALL cylinders.

Not to worry, supervisors weren't interested in cleaning the tables and got about every 5th piece of trash on the ground. A couple supervisors stood talking at the edge of the 6-table eating area; appeared unable to see any of the 6 seriously messy tables. and it shouldn't be a standoff as to whose job it is to assure a section is clean. It should be the "Associate Culture" that the park presentation is everyone's responsibility. Put glasses on those blind eyes so the can see the ketchup-slathered bench seats

After cleaning off the Skyline serving window myself because.... it was a disgusting mess of cheese, spaghetti, and chili we went to Coney Mall to sit/eat. From the images below: Table with my (full) drink on it is ours before we "dusted" it off. Grounds sweepers -sort of- sweeping randomly, missing more than they were sweeping. Supervisors walking by, blind-eye'ing it. After WE cleaned our table and prepared to leave, a family of three were going to leave the area because of the 4 empty tables.... the images below are a sample of what they saw; we gave them ours. In a story I heard, at Holiday World, ALL employees (from gate workers to Matt Eckert (Park President) or anyone with a Koch family lineage) are trained to pick up and throw away trash anywhere on park grounds they saw it. I heard Mr. Eckert say in an interview that it is so engrained that his family will make fun of him because they'll spot him picking up trash in the parking lot of a Walmart to throw it away. This is Guest Experience 101. Make your areas clean and welcoming. At a minimum, if you can't get staff to clean it, install kiosks that will give guests Disinfectant Wipes to clean themselves. I grew up on Kings Island. Have been an annual pass holder every year since 2006 + a handful of years before. 2025 and this year have been terrible on keeping areas clean. I get it, guests can be gross and disgusting. They will do things in the park they would NEVER do at home. But, this is awful. I have no ax to grind. KI is a great park- but wow, it's been a bad year+ for attention to the "little" things. and, looking at the pictures after posting... it really looked worse in person.

I, personally, wouldn't do that. I'll post it here; I know park employees have a working familiarity of the posts that show up on this site. I'll post pictures here and give someone who works "back stage" a chance to address. I don't have an ax to grind with KI, SF, etc... just want them to do better! And, while I'm at it- REPLACE THE BURNT OUT BULBS LINING THE BUILDINGS ON I-STREET

I agree. Guests are gross. People do things at the park that they would NEVER do anywhere else. That said, there's no discipline in keeping areas clean by employees either. I mean, does Skyline know one of their locations has a serving area that looks like this? I agree with Don; Kings Island was a near-benchmark of cleanliness for YEARS; one season changed that perception.

The park NEEDS to address this. This is horrible, terrible, gross. What's worse is that while enjoying our Skyline, no fewer than 4 employees in Supervisor attire were nearby standing, talking, walking by, etc... addressed nothing. I didn't take a picture of the Brew House mens room... which I felt like my hands would have been cleaner had I NOT washed them. Water all over the floor.

What this person said! I also liked the vintage Orchestra-style music. and.... REPLACE BURNT OUT BULBS on the iStreet buildings. It's the first AND last thing guests see.

I get it. But, on Sunday, it seemed to be a lot of people "with" the one(s) who legitimately needed to go through the back entrance.

Home Run by KI & SDR. The line was deceivingly long Sunday afternoon. We rode near the end of the operating day, so was in the line room when the Fast Pass and Accessible lines closed. Once those were exhausted, the main line went very fast. I don't recall hearing anything from the original musical score from the original- thought that was to have been played somewhere. Good (ride) add though. From here, it's really on the "guest." For instance, I get that some are physically unable to navigate the line queue; but I don't feel like that is a license for your party-of-10 to skip to the front of the line. The accessible line was out the door and down the walkway a bit with what seemed to be a lot of able-bodied people surrounding one. We'll see how long it is before line queue props are damaged from enterprising <18 guests going to places off-limits. There are a lot of moving parts to keep maintaining, so I hope KI is up to the task; lots of "burnt out bulbs" that weren't replaced from last Fall on those front buildings though....

It's almost time to raise the curtain....

Oooh.. free tap water. At Kings Island.... that's not such a great benefit. Mason City water is TERRIBLE!

Got to go with "C". I think, on it's own, it will be a great addition. However, I'm of the generation that felt that the changeover from the original PT to SDatHC was unnecessary and have felt every iteration thereafter didn't stack up. My concern is that this new version is going to be cartoon'ish and leave the nostalgia longing. Kind of like the Disney line of "a modern adaptation of a timeless classic"... how has that gone?

the same way that 47 years after it's construction, The Beast is still a top 3 (maybe even 1 or 2) at KI- and is usually featured on a majority of their marketing pieces. It always has a wait, high on guest reviews.... and that popularity has endured the pandemic, droughts, hot weather, terrible summers, bad ride attendants, GMs, and countless recessions. It is a a textbook definition of a "Great Coaster". It is remarkable, out of the box, and not available anywhere else. People come, sometimes specifically, to ride the legendary Beast.

LOL... OK- don't rank it. Guessing you're affiliated with the park or draw some sort of income from therein. No other could be that non-objective.

I'm just asking for his ranking. I'd place it 7th or 8th. Not bad. I'm not a coaster enthusiast; just someone that picks and chooses where to spend $. That said, it was the largest investment in park history and they installed a coaster that barely made it to giga status... and does not offer any unique experience that separates it from others in its category.

Rank it. 14 coasters; where do you place it?

Answer my first question instead of commenting on a statement with your own question- where do you rate Orion in the list of 14? Though I will contend that Siren's Curse has sold more daily admissions to curious thrill seekers than Orion has done for KI. Multiple Choice: which would you like installed at KI given the choice: Orion Siren's Curse Voyage Night Flight Expedition Again, it a "good" coaster, but VERY middle of the pack. Not a signature installation you would expect for the largest investment in the park; $30M could have been better spent than Diamondback 2.0.

I'll go with you. Where does Orion fit in this list? This list, by the way was in no particular order- it was just as I could think of them, and I'm probably missing a few notable ones. Top Thrill 2 Millenium Force Orion Diamondback Fury 325 Thunder Striker Pantherion Wrath of Rakasha Yukon Striker Leviathon Behemeth Goliath Apollo's Chariot Mako Don't get me wrong. It's a good coaster, but "middle-of-the-pack"- behind Diamondback. A low bar to clear for the largest investment in the history of the park. My point, instead of Diamondback 2.0, create something truly unique that will sell tickets.

typical guest sentiment. it's a fun ride experience.... and largely one you can find at most other legacy CF and SF parks... including it's own home. Nothing sticks out as a "must spend $$$" investment to go out of your way to experience.

Not much they could do with it than what is already there. If not mistaken, it was designed to be in the San Francisco park and the "just over" giga requirement would have far surpassed anything that is/was currently there. I don't remember why the change. If it had been designed specifically for KI maybe the end result would have been different. But, the investment was already spent and needed a place to go. If it didn't go to KI, then the giga crowd would be claiming a miscarriage of justice. Problem is, now there is a $30M "2.0" version of a coaster already onsite, that may not be taller or faster- but has better elements. My fear is that legitimate installations that will sell tickets will ALWAYS go to Cedar Point- so long as KI remains a Six park. The park will get new, and somewhat innovative, attractions in the future... though they will be "ordinary thrills, available at other parks too." CP will get the innovative investment $'s. Dollywood, on the other hand- installs a $50M investment that WILL sell tickets and be a boon for the Pigeon Forge area for several years.

ok... ANYTHING but Panda Express...

I'll probably regret this, but... what?

I'd personally like to see Panda Express moved elsewhere. I agree that it doesn't necessarily need to have German food... though it IS in the last visages of Oktoberfest and IS in a German themed building. the smell of Panda Express is nauseating and overwhelming when entering the main entrance. Keep LaRosas, but I'm not sure why a place that served: Bratwurst, currywurst, weisswurst, schnitzel, roasted meats, potato specialties, etc.... wouldn't go over well... AND be a MUCH more pleasant smell upon entering. Most of those things are relatively easy to cook.... less overhead. It would NEVER work, but I always thought that it would be interesting to see what could happen if Hofbrauhaus took it over for a season and had the lively atmosphere that they have along with German-themed entertainment instead of, what is usually, a "music review." I would thin year #1 would go over because it would be something new... and something most have never seen.

Couple thoughts: - in the image above- I like the Coney throwbacks in the park- but some of this seems misplaced since "Coney Mall" is somewhere else in the park. I thought they should dismantle one of the original Coney Island entrances from the old park (not sure what they'll be used as now) and reconstruct them at KI.... and build a replica of Moonlight Gardens as an indoor eating experience with a feel like the Grand Pavilion at CP. As for the themed area overhauls listed above... KI has too many "areas". International Street- one of the best environment entrances, but hardly "international" anymore Planet Snoopy- should be overhauled and incorporated into Camp Snoopy Camp Snoopy- great start (will it be expanded?) Action Zone- no cohesive story and has some aging rides in their last stages in prominent locations Octoberfest- basically a German-themed hall with American-Italian as well as Chinese fast food... and a swinging ship Adventure Port- two spanish themed rides... and arguably the best themed ride in the park Adventure Express Coney Mall- annoying pop music with a large scar in the back coming to it's 7th season Rivertown- Nice "rivertown'ish" feel with coasters that point in another direction Area 72- a good start but with a lot of concrete and nowhere to expand. Did I miss any?