Outdoor Man

that sounds good on paper... but even as a preview marketing tool- what you're proposing would be a major money loser. It was announced this season as a boost to sell season passes.

Have they announced where the 'assets' are going?

Unfortunately petitions don't place patrons in the park to make it profitable. View the Yelp, Google, Facebook, etc... pages; there were always comments about "no, short, etc... lines." The same were true the last 2 years GL was in operation. Look at the YouTube videos from the last seasons: Dominator coaster trains not even half full. Less than 10 people riding their topspin ride. 3 people on Head Spin. Empty midways. The park(s) simply weren't supported by the local population- or there wasn't enough local population to support it. Any owner will only let an asset bleed cash for so long before pulling the plug. Did Six over-build and cast the seeds we're seeing mature now?; probably. Different discussion though.

At least they gave notice before closing this time.

It has to be an announcement worthy of selling 2017 Season Passes, an announcement featuring aesthetics won't get my Visa swiped. I have a short list of things I'm hoping for (some maybe beyond 2017/never): Better "International" Street environment. Bring back the instrumental/classic music with choreographed fountains... Some sort of themed dark ride in the Tomb Raider building. Move the "soccer" game out of Rivertown... I don't believe soccer was a sport in the new world during that period. More SR&R / Scrambler lighting treatment to other Coney rides (Monster, Zephyr, etc...) Refurbish the Carousel Electronic order kiosks for food service... The food service employee demeanor has been Zootopia DMV worthy for a few years now. Retheme of Boo Blasters... not a fan of the whole skeleton/Demonic theming. An "out-of-the-box" Soak City attraction Water coaster: a la Journey to Atlantis Power wash the sidewalks in Soak City more often to get layer of mildew (and stink) off. Return of Winterfest... a South lot entrance/exit. It wasn't packed last weekend but took an HOUR to get out of the parking lot. Fewer "music review" shows I think Mystic Timbers will be a nice tweener roller coaster with good theming that looks to tie in well with the Rivertown persona. It alone was a decent announcement. However, CF looks to have concurrent announcements at several parks on or near the same day/time. My guess is that each are getting the same or similar announcement. I can't imagine that it will be a ride or aesthetics- I'm going with an event.

Ok, so I'm a bit off topic. But what really BUGS me is that horrible 5-song rotation plying in the park this year. I would rather listen to someone drag their fingernails across a chalk board than to some of these. Every time I hear a Sam Smith song I want to throw rocks at the speakers. Oh, and the 'work ethic' of a lot employees it seems this year...

Will come down to cost of maintenance and perceived ROI. Recirculating water and other intangible costs associated probably make this ride more costly to maintain than others.

A lot of the songs aren't "upbeat" and you can almost tell what time of the day it is by what's playing,

Walking through the park earlier tonight I caught myself thinking that Kings Island is just another amusement park stocked with once-a-thrill roller coaster thrills. Job positions that actually require maturity have done pretty well; First Aid as well as Security (and unfortunately this year our family has had to use both). Food Service and Ride Ops... this year has been atrocious. I can't recall a year where their guest experience has been this bad. It's not that the individuals in these positions are rude; an overwhelming majority of them come across as lazy. Walking through the gates used to be much more grand years ago. International Street didn't play pop music... and i have to be honest, the music roll they have this year makes me want to lunge towards the speakers. The park used to be masterfully themed. And over the years it has just dipped into... who cares. There's remnants of theming but its not connected to anything. International Street has almost nothing international I-Street buildings are lined with lights that are half lit. German Festhaus serves chinese fast food and has American pop music reviews October Fest features a Viking ship and Mexican burritos Tower Gardens is a designated smoking area Rivertown is about as close as it gets to theming. There are a bunch of empty buildings 350'ish days out of the year It's a great park, don't get me wrong. Anything that attracts 3 million+ annually in Ohio is doing something right. But, it could be much more than it is. I love when organizations go out of their way to "create" a unique experience. You take the theming away and the Seven Dwarfs mine ride is just a different version of... Flying Ace (or whatever its called). But add the theming to it... and you have 2+ hour waits for repeat rides visit after visit. I think Banshee is one of the better themed rides they have built in recent memory... beyond that, i'd love it if they put some water under the tracks, insert a tunnel or two, and throw some fog in the field. I stand in the minority here, but I hope KI never gets a $25M "giga" that will just pull line patrons from Diamonback, etc... Build a smaller, slower, shorter coaster and theme the smack out of it and create an experience that won't lose it's line after the next thrill is built (a la Tomb Raider... RIP).

From what I've read, which is sketchy at best, the Orlando attack seems to have been lone wolf despite pledging allegiance/inspired by ISIS. His parents said he became angry after seeing two males kissing in Miami 2 weeks ago... As a person, how do you reconcile this. It's not a crime of passion where a person seeks to exact revenge over an instance that happened to them personally. But, act in a murderous rage against people you have no connection to. I can't reconcile this in my head.

Honestly, I think what we don't need is thousands of people who weren't there suddenly becoming experts on what happened and what steps should have been taken. I also don't think we need our over-reactive society to force litigation over this so that in a few years after millions of dollars in legal fees are spent we wonder why the zoo is so expensive. Anyone with young kids knows that under an even watchful eye kids disappear in seconds. Parks, airports, Kings Island... only to find out they were right behind us. This is a 40 year exception to the rule. While I don't reasonably expect a 4 year old to understand cause and effect, I also wouldn't believe that a 4 year old of mine would try to go into an animal enclosure. Just unfortunate on all fronts.

WLWT released this video. This wasn't from wlwt's site but is same video.

One thing that would significantly speed the lines up... get someone who knows how to use a computer run the registers. It bothers me how often the lines are bunched up at the register... and not the food.

If you're wondering why they would in canada... never been to Canada sans 4th of July time frame but certain it's not celebrated quite like their brethren south of the border. It's a 'continuation' of Canada Day. Not sure exactly, though. What that is.

Who else went to that IAAPA Convention??? Never been but I hear the location in Dayton is twice the size- is that right?

I'm not sure that a vacant former movie theater would be better.. I don't attend there, but they have done a remarkable job updating and seriously upgrading the facility on the inside... the outside looks good as well.

I've had season passes for longer than I care to admit. From where I sit, it seems like the training and/or quality of staff this year (food service and rides) isn't exactly as bad as a Cincinnati Reds Bullpen... but it's in the same conversation.

I think you have to look at incentive as well. Not knocking food service/fast food jobs in any way, but they're fairly common to come by all over the region within close proximity to residential areas/transit. What's the incentive to working in food service at Kings Island when you could find the same type of work much closer? Not to mention, for better or worse (and experiences in service vary wildly by location), but even companies like McDonalds offer actual benefits and regular pay increases on top of year round work. I know this is a simple solution to a complex problem, but that's where I say- hire fewer and pay better.

Have had very similar experiences this year. Yesterday was mild for us... having had terrible guest experiences the first couple of visits, we unfortunately knew what/when to avoid. It seems, though that a number of the lines bunch up at the cashier. Why does it always seem that they place the most inexperienced computer person at the cashier position? A few weeks ago, the Chicken Shack (by Banshee) had two cashiers more interested in flirting with girls on the other side of the door than serving the "line" in front of them. It seems rather epidemic that to solve staffing issues, places (not just Kings Island) throw employee volume at it. Not to get into a political bent on this, but in the whole $15/hour debate.... I've said before- pay more, hire fewer and more mature employees. There's nothing wrong inherently with hiring teens. But, unfortunately, the supervisors tend to be borderline teen/college age and attain the position by tenure rather than qualification- and most want to be the "cool" supervisor, not the one that expects excellence.

I've been away for a little while. Something happening at the park?

Should have never been rethemed from Phantom Theater. Ditch the cardboard cutouts and braindead theming and start over. A remodel has been long-overdue. (that was harsh)

Here's hoping some of that new paint found its way onto the Carousel to spruce that thing up for its 90th season. The organ is back, but that thing has been looking a bit shabby of late.

Should have known that 5 seconds after it's announced from a conference call, it will have already been on this site for 4.

and while I'm at it... wrong thread I know- but did anyone else notice that Cedar Fair is introducing "WinterFest" at California's Great America this year??? Is there hope???????? https://www.cagreatamerica.com/events/things-to-do/special-events/WinterFest

I don't think there's enough theming around Cedar Fair to make it unique enough or anything more than a shopping area featuring shops that are a dime a dozen around town. Under Paramount, however, there was plenty of theming that it could have been built around.. as noted in that Press Release by bkroz.