6 hours ago, KI Guy said:

I don't think they make it out and I'm actively hoping for either a sell off, split, or the dream— a sale to a private owner.

There will be several people on this forum who will sing "ding dong the witch is dead" when it finally happens. Some parks likely won't survive, but that's just how it has to be.

I'm not renewing my pass for just the 2nd time in 23 years and I'm not the only one.

Everything comes down to scale. My rough estimate is that Kings Island sells somewhere around 200,000–300,000 season passes. So even a 5% decline would mean roughly 10,000–15,000 people choosing not to renew. That's a lot of people, but in a publicly traded company, it's still a relatively small number compared with the interests of shareholders.

I can understand why people aren't renewing, but unfortunately, consumer dissatisfaction alone probably isn't enough to force meaningful change. If shareholders really wanted to push for change, they would have to use their voting power—and the shareholders with enough ownership to really matter are the major ones. At around 1% ownership, you're talking about roughly 1 million shares. That's an enormous position for an individual investor.

That's one of the fundamental problems with publicly traded companies: the interests of employees and consumers can sometimes take a back seat to the interests of shareholders. The larger companies become and the more they consolidate, the greater that tension becomes. That's where I think government has a legitimate role in preventing excessive consolidation and monopolistic behavior.

I actually agree that a private owner could potentially be better for the park. The catch is that a private owner wouldn't have the same purchasing power as a company the size of Six Flags. Food, drinks, supplies, insurance, equipment, etc. could all cost more. Pass prices might have to increase to make up the difference. And eventually, that private owner could face the same temptation to sell to a larger company.

So I'm not convinced that public ownership is inherently bad or that private ownership is inherently good. Both have their problems.

For all the complaints, though, I'm still grateful that these parks exist. People travel thousands of miles and spend thousands of dollars to visit American theme parks. Getting into Kings Island for around $120 is still an incredible value.

As for whether Six Flags makes it through all of this? I think they will. And if they do, it probably won't be because of our measly offerings to the gods of capitalism. It'll be because the major shareholders decided it was in their interest.

Rich protects rich. It's the good ol' boys' system—and the number of good ol' boys keeps getting smaller.

Eventually, the proletariat will overthrow the bourgeoisie. May we all be around to see it.

6 hours ago, brenthodge said:

By that logic though, Atlanta, which is landlocked and has way more density than Cincinnati and access to more markets driving as well as flights into the busiest airport in the country, has some of the lowest pass prices. I totally get what you are saying, but as long as they keep pushing the "One big happy company" idea, but then charging less for certain parks, you will have people price shopping. When a decent park has Prestige for 189 vs 279 for a "better"? park, and I can still get into all the parks, why wouldn't I go that route? I'm just saying all of their verbiage makes no sense. If I upgrade to Prestige in 2026 for a 2027 pass can I use it now without going to GEORGIA and their answer is, "yes sort of probably maybe but you still might want to come toGeorgia first just to make sure because we aren't quite sure"

So I looked it up and my guess is it goes back to supply and demand. KI has almost double the attendance even though 1/2 as many people live within a 50 mile radius. Their passes are cheaper because not as many people buy them.

(from chatgpt)

Kings Island Six Flags Over Georgia
Approx. 50-mile population ~2.8–3.0M ~6.2M
Annual attendance ~3.47M ~2.7M
Attendance / local population ~1.2× ~0.44×

2024 attendance

• Kings Island (Mason, Ohio): ~3.47 million visitors

• Six Flags Over Georgia (Austell, Georgia): ~2.7 million visitors — this figure is an estimate; Six Flags does not publicly report attendance for individual parks.

So Kings Island drew roughly 750,000 more visitors, or about 28% more, than Six Flags Over Georgia.

For additional context, the TEA/AECOM report estimated Kings Island at 3.49 million in 2023, while Six Flags Over Georgia was not among the top-20 North American parks that year.

13 minutes ago, Cedar Fair Fanboy said:

A new horror theme area at Kings Island. Guys Action Zone might be finally getting a retheme it deserved.

You could be on to somethng actually with The Bat,Drop Tower they could have eye of the dragon open year round....

36 minutes ago, brenthodge said:

Which again bears to question WHY? Why charge different prices for anything other than one park silver? Now that they are touting this whole “visit all parks” idea, then charge way less for other parks, they are just asking for people to do this.

It all comes down to not only the number of people living around a park but the cost of living. Cedarpoint, and other six properties up north all are close to a coast whereas KI is land locked. That alone means there are twice as many people living within a 50 mile radius of the park (not that many people live on the water). Another factor is how densely populated the area is around the park and the cost of living. Next time you go to CP notice how much farmland there is and the house values when you approach the park. Deffinitely a difference between CP and KI.

So going by supply and demand KI should by all means have a higher price for gold passes (we're still for capitalism right?). At one time I thought they would do something similar to what they are doing with the dining plan this year. For gold you'd get in to KI all year but you'd only get 10-20 visits to the other parks in the region (or maybe even all parks and drop the region thing alltogether) combined with prestige having unlimited to all parks. This would keep people from buying a cheaper pass in Canada and going to KI all year. This would mean you could charge $150 for a KI season pass and $100 for the other markets where there are less people in a 50 mile radius with a lower cost of living.

Last year my wife and I took advantage of the 99 renewal and the 100 upgrade to prestige and found it well worth it. This year prestige is only $24 more than last year considering the $279 price point for renewal. (200 for the prestige plus 35 for the included drink plan and a 20 credit = 255). I have always said that I would pay $200 for a season pass because I go so often (over 50 times a year) so $279 was an easy buy.

The dining plan is a different story. My wife will be getting the 20 meals (I go way more often than she does) but I'l going to wait to buy mine. 399 for the unlimited seems just a bit high I would bite (no pun intended) at 299 and I feel that depending on how sales go they may drop that price. But you'll have alot of people who buy just one and split it. They would get a piece of pizza and a breadstick every 2 hours. Another thing that crossed my mind was how many people in the past have gottent a meal and sold it to someone for say $10. The old way you'd make $10 a day but now that could be over $50 a day easily paying for the unlimited in less than 10 visits. Looking at it that way maybe I do see the reason for the 399 price after all. I would never do that as I see it as taking advantage of the system. (Others may say that once you have it what you do with it is your business) One thing is for sure people generally like to save and/or make a buck and given the opportunity they will.

Just my 2 cents.

In other food news the big dog of the month at Brewhouse is a chili dog. It has chili, beer cheese and fried onions. I had one and it wasn't bad, I'd give it a 7, chili could have had more flavor and to be clear this is NOT CHILI, it's chili with beans as Sheldon would say. :)

8 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

I was actually just thinking about this. I feel like if they did the 2nd one, they would make it another Bat or WWC and just build a long pathway out to it. Like what they probably would do is demolish the SOB station and have the path start where SOB's old queue is currently and have it wrap under Banshee's turn there where part of the service road goes and then have it wrap up the hill into a new plaza. Think what Holiday World did with Thunderbird. If the park did that I would hope they would add a restroom and a restaurant/drink stand out there and maybe relocate/add a used flat ride or 2 there, but knowing how the park can't keep things open or fully stocked, I don't think would do this or do it properly.

Might be why they put up the SOB station to be demolished. Add a sit-down restraunt and spuce up the area a bit in 2027 and then add the coaster in 2028. Eltoro is always very careful about rumors more than most. Might explain why we haven't heard anything till the sale was final.

Of course the same reasoning could be why Magic Mountain delayed thier announement by a week...........

Not sure if this has been mentioned but I was having my smoked wings and green beans sitting between the Coconut Cove Cafe and the changing rooms when I saw someone go up to the side of the Cafe (on the outside) interact with a screen and 4 doors opened. Seems as though they used the mobile app to order food and there is a wall of hotboxes that can be opened with a code from the app. Wonder if there are any more of these in the park. Looked very efficient.

Festhaus has new menu screens (not tvs, but the design/artwork on them), they look great, French Quarter does also. Not sure if all of them have been done throughout the park but the look much better than before.

Like the new site but it took me until now to notice the next pre/pages (they kind of blend into the background. Also would be nice to have it show the forum content from the newest to the oldest (maybe a setting per user?)

1 hour ago, disco2000 said:

Sometimes you just wanna bang your head....

Metal health will drive you mad.........

 

 

8 hours ago, RollerColt said:

I’m a teacher, so in terms of large scale corporate business practices I’m probably lesser compared to the rest of you… but I just wonder how bad of an idea the whole “buy a pass and get in anywhere across the country” was for the company as a whole? 
 

I mean, I’m sure it was great for those who had the passes, but wouldn’t this type of model cause parks to lose potential revenue via missed general tickets? I imagine with so many guests coming into without needing general entry that had to add up over time…

The way I look at it is since I've hadd Platinum/All-Park/Prestige I've been to Cedar Point (I go every year and always stay at Breaksers, eat at Bay Harbor and Tomos, etc. so I'm spending money to SIX)  Carowinds, Knotts and Six Flags Over Texas. Each time I visited the other parks besides CP I've spent money on magnets, shirts, etc.  I believe others would do the same, because KI (and to a point CP) are my home parks I don't tend to spend at them.  I would think that people who go to other parks also get some kind of keepsake that otherwise they wouldn't get.  "I didn't spend anything to get into this park so might as well get something to remember the trip by." kind of thinking.

On 8/6/2026 at 5:32 PM, beastfan11 said:

Passes and meal plans, etc. were too cheap. Maybe this could (in hindsight) be looked at as an over correction a year or two from now, but the reality of of the situation is that they spent years giving away the gate, handing out meal plans for a “dime,” and watched as the masses poured in. It’s not so much that the majority of passholders “abused” the situation, but it’s obvious, post merger, that that model is not sustainable in this new Six Flags reality.

Seen plenty of plenty of negative reactions online about this today. These are a lot of the same folks who bragged about much “advantage” they got out of their pass, dining/drink plan, etc. Interpret that however you want. Theres a balance. 

At the end of the day, the situation is what it is. Between the merger and the ultimate  failed strategy of passholder add-ons,  cheap passes, and whatever… things have changed. The price of gold/prestige passes have, for a long time, been priced way under what they should have, market value be darned.  Look no further than the returns, reaction, and overall value when it comes to attendance vs. in-park spending. Whether it’s Disney or Six Flags, less can be more if/when it comes to attendance if guest are still spending money. And in many cases, guests are still willing to renew and pay regardless. That being a good or bad thing is certainly up for debate.

Trimming the fat, increasing prices, etc., I hope would/will result in a higher quality output in terms of new additions, cleanliness, added events, and more. 

Look no further than Haunt. Sure, it’s an upcharge now when it historically wasn’t, but the quality of the event been better, right? I mean… Conjuring? Order of the Dragon? The reported $60k investment in the new Jason maze?  Not to mention the concerns about crowds, clientele, and beyond. I personally don’t want to see anyone out-priced from visiting KI the same way I want to be able to take my family to Disneyland without selling a kidney. But it’s hypocritical to celebrate the perceived value of season passes, drink and meal plans, perks, etc., and then turn around and complain about crowds, added retail/alcohol sales, increased prices, lack of non, thrilling “thoosie additions.” 

I don’t care for the majority of any of these changes. But I’m personally willing to let my dollar go farther when it comes to the overall park experience, given the current status of the chain as a whole. And ironically, it’s not all bad. Look at the aforementioned Haunt experience, PT:OE, certain food experiences, operations… I mean, it’s stellar. But that’s not to say there hasn’t been a handful of miserable fails over the last season or two. Because there are plenty.

At the end of the day, I hate to come across like a fanny pack wearing, apologist, thoosie chud. but looking at this as an opportunity to “right the ship” and increase quality as a whole could be for the best. If corporate is committed to that. That’s a big “If.” Who knows. Shareholders are weird. Business is weird. 

Eh. I don’t know, gang. It’s ultimately irrelevant in the grand scheme of it all, in life, and everything. This is what’s supposed to make me happy….
 

 

 

More importantly, what’s your favorite seat on Adventure Express? I need some levity and optimism. 

I agree with your points but theres one issue.  Renewals for season passes are STILL $99.  They didn't up the prices.  IMO the renewal should have been $120-140 and the non-renewals $20 more to help the "giving away the gate" situation.  Season long dining plan at 399 is a bit steep.  I could see this price coming down to 299 by christmas once they see how they are selling. (I would pay 299, but find it hard to justify at 399).  Evreything else is prices well (if they raised prestige cost why didn't they raise gold???)  Prestige went from $200 to $279 however looking closer it now includes the drink plan ($40 plus renewal gets a bring a freind pass (don't need) and a $20 credit (MUST BE USED BY 9/7/2026!).  so I look at it as a $19 increase.  Looking further you can upgrade the drink plan to the drink plan plus (icees, coffee and hot chocolate) for an additional $15 so looks like I'll be in at the Prestige at 294 all in.  This season I've never not found a VIP parking spot nor have I seen the VIP lounge full.  Granted I tend not to go on days when it will be extremly crowded but by them pricing Prestige for an additional $100 last year they did convert me and I find it to be a great value.

5 hours ago, BeeastFarmer said:

If they did that, hard pass for me.  I'm fine with paying a higher pass price and add ones if it's worth it, but it's becoming more and more less valuable to me.

Silver...home only.

Gold...regional.

Platinum...chain wide.

Each pass could have a premium level as well. 

Eliminate the variables ( parking not included, access to Scary Farm not included etc)

Finally, why is buying a pass from Canada such a big deal?  The company still gets its money.  If people never blabbed about it publicly, it might could still work for people. If folks are of the opinion that US residents doing this are costing the company money, then they should raise the Canadian prices to  be approximately the same price as the US top tier parks. 

the whole reason for my "unlimited use at the park site you bought from and 20 visits to other parks" was simply because the sheer amount of people who live around KI.  The more people the more you can drive up the price (we do still believe in capitalism, right?).  However not only does Cedar Point have less people living around it (much less), the cost of living within a 30 mile radius of the park is lower than that around KI (or Canada).  It's a way of trying to avoid "giving away the gate" without hurting pass sales at other SIX properties.

7 hours ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

Which is a very good thing. Even at $400, redeeming 40 meals comes to $10.00 each at the end of the season (as opposed to $155/40 meals = $3.88 per meal). Those of us who use it even more already know how to make it worth it. Same with those who buy the 20 or 30 meal options. The biggest change will actually be the cost per pass and what parks it will work at. Great Adventure released their 2027 add-on lineup alongside the announcement of Bakunawa. I've posted a breakdown of their 2027 add-on programs in the Other Theme Parks portion of this website in case you'd like to read more official information.

Completely agree.  This year the meal plan was over 200 for 2 meals 4 hours apart.  If what was seen on Canada's website is to be believed it is now $399 for unlimited meals each day 2 hours apart (almost double the amount of meals but you could theoretically get 5 meals a day (6 during haunt).  This is the kind of thing they have to do to get rid of "giving away the gate" in my opinion for season passes.  For example getting a gold pass should cost $150-$160 and bee good for the "region" but only with unlimited visits to your "home park" (the website you bought the pass from) for the other parks in the region you get 20 visits each (drink plans and meal plans would work at all regional parks).  This would keep people from taking advantage of the Canada exchange rate hack or buying a gold pass from another park.  In my opinion KI could easily make more money even with a 20% drop in gold pass sales and it would keep gold passes + meal plans from being used as a cheap baby sitter during the summer.  

Just my 2 cents.

5 hours ago, MaestroJr said:

Furnace heat was working which is nice although tv screen was not, not sure if this is new or not but the first time I rode, I didn’t even have to hold any of the flashlight button down as they lit up by themselves without me needing to do anything the second time I rode even when you don’t hit the flashlight if you shine it, it will still get your points so it’s almost as if hitting the button it’s just for show. I also noticed a lot of new music throughout the ride, which is cool.

Of all the screens the furnace seems to be the one that usually is not working.  Sometimes it works, sometimes not.  
As far as the flashlights, I have never had one "auto shine".  That being said, this encarnation of PT seems to be more inviting to younger riders and maybe their hands are not big or strong enough to reach the button let alone hold it.  I think having the flashlights on constantly would be a good move for the ride.  

3 hours ago, mikejenkins1 said:

Why is it starting at 9 PM this year?   I have seen in past years parents waiting for earlier parade with small children and say nah,  too late for us.   Plus it will go right into the fireworks show and hopefully starts/finishes a little early for that.

Starting earlier than 9 was always a dissapointment for me because the lights need to be seen in the dark to do the floats justice imo.  

11 hours ago, DoomPlague said:

• Apparently they removed a bunch of ride vehicles? The line still moved fast but that surprised me.

As was said before, it's the same number of vehicles as before, just spaced differently (2 blanks between the 2 vehicles.  This helps the experience with the spacing.  

Also I'd love to see a short on how the flashlights work.  Several things are taken into account.  If you try to point it to far ahead the system get's confused (your light may be a different color) also if 2 people it the note at the same time, in my experience neither get's the note point.  Also there are different point values for different notes.  Maybe we can get everyone on here to try and find out if that is true and what the values are.

New for 2027: FunPix on Phantom Theatre!

Saw the show with my wife on Friday and my Grandkids yesterday and I have to say he was much better.  I think he just needed to get used to the theatre.  It's starting to grow on me.  I still now how the tricks are done, but that just grows my appreciation for the assistnants and their talent.  

On Friday both of the small illustions with the girls did not go off well (the scarf and the levetating glass).  He covered it as well as he could.  

On 6/1/2026 at 11:10 AM, Cedar Fair Fanboy said:

I got stumped by the levitation trick he pulled.

Think no legs larry.  Watch the ring around the body VERY carefully and notice he doesn't walk all the way from the feet to the head.  Also black backdrop, curtain, etc.  

This trick takes ALOT of core strength from the assistant.  She does it very well.  (Just my guess but with things like this, take away the impossible and what remains is the only possibile explanation.)

22 hours ago, silver2005 said:

I think the show is simple but good.  Liked the use of music and choreography.  Dialog felt a little too well rehearsed though.  I do have Ed Elonzo in my head and his use of ad lib helped a lot.

I'm not sure if it's him or lighting or sound something just seemed "off".  I agree over rehearsed and to me lacked personality.  Maybe it was just the show I saw.  I'll give it another go.  The dancers were very good but I don't expect dancing in a magic show. 

It definitely is geared toward children imo and I'm sure 13 and under will get a kick out of it.  I think the biggest difference between this show and other magic shows here in the past is Penn and Teller Fool Us and the internet.  Honestly I didn't see anything that I didn't know how the trick worked.  Over half of the tricks when the "big moment" happened nobody applauded or even gasped.  Nowadays close-up/slight of hand/card magic is much more mystifying and takes more talent than large scale illusions where the assistants are doing most of the work (if you know, you know).  

Also, I may be wrong but does he use local tallent for the other performers in the show?  The "second" magician looks like he could be the Great Houdelini from the Encore show.

I can't wait for the park to start doing broadway style productions again, Oh how I miss the Taft years.

9 hours ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

Has anyone here been to Soak City yet this season and tried the food? I'm considering heading over there one of these days to check it out again. I haven't been since they started beefing up the park food around 2018 and want to get the full value out of my pass and various add-ons this year.

Smoked wings are fantastic.  So are the green beans!

6 hours ago, MaestroJr said:

Audio glitched in the queue tonight and yes I also noticed they were skipping quite a few opera boxes. Only main thing of note that I find funny is during the first weekend of the ride I got 999999 first time but now I can’t get it so I suppose the score has been adjusted to make it hard, does anyone know if some notes count for more points or do all the notes score the same total 

Where I haven't confirmed it, I believe I heard some notes are more than others.  Also the number of riders has alot to do with it.  The first time I rode it i was by myself in my car and the next one had no one in it so basically 1 flashlight for all the notes and I maxed out at Hilda.  However you get the other car full and you have 4 lights competing for notes instead 1.  Not to mention you can try and it the notes on an upcoming scene (sometimes giving you a different color on your flashlight).  Not sure but I think at that point you're scoring for someone else.  Also 2 beams hitting the same not does nothing, (as far as I can tell).   I would love to see how this system works exactly.  None the less it's much more accurate than Boo ever was.

No packages found?  Guess they sold out already?

1 hour ago, disco2000 said:

It tested yesterday as well.  Have you noticed how quiet it is?

Yes.  Must be new wheels.