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Welcome to KICentral nice first post as well as a great trip report. Sounds like you and the family had a great time and do not worry about not ridding DB because like you said you will be back in a couple weeks, so now you have something to look forward too with great anticipation.

I always enjoy seeing how others see the park through their camera thanks for taking the time to share.

_rugrats_5 welcome to KICentral. Every member has a unique situation and expectation when visiting Kings Island and sometime that makes it a little harder to answer questions like these in general. I would tell many who have not visited Kings Island in many years to not get to hung up on food prices unless their budget dictates that they do so. Just know that prices will be expensive so get over that shock now so when you're in the park you're not obsessing about prices but more about the quality family time. You did well trying to figure this out now as that will save you time. Many of the responses above about choices in and out of that park are good responses. We tend to try to eat a breakfast shortly before entering the park then eat late afternoon at the Backyard BBQ, to tie us over between meals that is when we like to snack on ice cream, pretzels and many other snack food items. Enjoy your upcoming visit to Kings Island. There is a myriad of family activities around the Cincinnati area, the zoo, Wake Nation (since you have teenagers) Pro Baseball, B.B. Riverboat Cruises, Newport Aquarium to just name a few things.

We went to KI for many years on the 4th as there was outside entertaiment brought in so we eenjoyed coming. They say it's the same but not to us. I can not speak for others but we stopped coming on the 4th because we miss the way it used to be and it is not the same we have moved on and enjoying it, This is not a knock on KI but rather the reason why at least 3 do not come on the 4th weekend anymore.

You do realize Paramount did a total refurbishment of the Royal Fountains back in 2003. I love the Royal Fountain at Kings Island but have felt for some time that it is under utilized as far maybe state of the art synced musical, light water show. No I do not mean a major show production just a good decent automated show.

Yes I got it yesterday and played with it a bit. For an amusement park App they did a pretty good job, it has all the rides and restaurant locations complete with menu and prices. If you are at the park it will show you were you are at in the park and how to get somewhere from there. Also a really cool feature is the locate feature which I know we here on KIC will use when a group of us are there. You put a code in and send that code to your friends who are or will be there and when they want to meet up just hit the friends locate feature and it will show them where you are at in the park by the name of your phone. several people can be use that same code at the same time, that way everyone can see were everyone is at the same time. I wished we had this app a month ago. They may be a small family park but you would not know it by the way they run the place and communicate with their guests. In addition on the same app some local area amenities can be bought up, reason for the and more attached to the tittle of the app.

Wow Reon it has been a long time hope you have been well.

I don't know but I think they could use a new flat ride attraction.

Jackson we are planning to do all the Sea World parks when we head down this fall. We have not been in many years and are looking forward to it the most this year especially Discovery Cove so we can swim with the dolphins. I look forward to your photo trip report.

Wow it's almost like attack the complainers of a failed policy versus adjusting and prioritize the problem. But what does Gigacoaster2k, Purplehaze, CedarPointer, Interpreter ect..ect... know - they are just those KICers, who cares about them anyway!!! Anyone else been feeling this way lately?

I will wait to make sure but I truly hope That Interpreters insightful guess is not true. I know many who are visiting less this year and many who no longer go to KI due to prices (That is the truth). We have cut back ourselves and looking to a KI visit soon. We have been going to other parks that are more reasonably priced and have found them to be a wonderful alternative, we do enjoy Kings Island being our home park but as long as the prices keep going up along with the gas prices we will continue to look for whats best for us financially and prudent.

Great trip report Keith and I am glad you had such a great fathers day at Cedar Point. I can not think of a better coaster buddy than your own children and I am glad you got to experience that on Fathers day no less.

KIfan1980 – Thanks for adding the conversation with Will we had. It explains a lot especially how many guests feel when seeing Pat work like she does. RailRider – You know I was thinking about it and I would have suggested we go there but HW provided 3 meals so there was no place to fit it in when we would be hungry. BTW can we please count on you to at least make one meet-up this year it would be nice to have you around, if only it was just one day at that. Kevin – gad198 it was good to meet both you guys and to finally but a name with a face. You guys seem to be some great enthusiasts and I look forward to your guys input around here. Standbyme – what can I say I really was hoping you could have made this trip, so much so I was ready to come up there drag you into the car myself. Thanks for the comments on the report; I am sure you have figured out the song by now. I almost listed it but in truth I wanted to keep it mysterious and to see if anyone noticed it or made mention to it and if anyone was going to it would be you. It is called Hollywood Nocturne by Brian Setzer Orchestra, Brian is better known for his work with “the Stray Cats”. Interpreter and standbyme – Thank you both for mentioning the video part of this report, my whole focus was on this video as I wanted it to show how much fun and all the varieties of entertainment that Holiday World provides. I was very tired from the 2 days of activities and then putting the video together that I think the report suffered a bit from the fatigue. From the start I wanted to video to be the main focus, I did not want to do a huge glowing written report about Holiday World (although they certainly deserve it) but rather a fun interesting but entertaining video. I am happy with the video as it does show a lot more than meets the eye but of course there are a few areas/pictures I would like to swap around. I enjoy sharing my adventures either by writing about them or by video as I save them for reference and memories to enjoy later. If only one person saw it and enjoyed it then it is worth the time to do. BTW I will be providing a link shortly to the album with all the pictures and videos but some are at the water park and I want to make sure everyone is comfortable with me sharing that link.

Keith I truly enjoyed spending some quality time with you and getting to know you better, I enjoyed our conversations and your opinions on life in general. I really enjoyed seeing your reaction to so many of your firsts, like coasters and walk-backs. I would like to share with you a picture of you right before your first ride on Voyage. I just wished I had a picture of you as we came into that final break-run. enjoy

Well I was browsing through PKICentral many years back and noticed a new member starting a new topic, so obviously I opened it and read what he was describing as what would be known now as Diamondback. He was an older gentleman and evidently had a conversation with someone in connection with the a proposed ride, so about a week later he found PKICentral and shared what he had learned and was curious if anyone knew anything about it. Well like true fanatics the "you do not know what you are saying" and "the Dipping Dot Guy spreads rumors all the time" started to be hurled around. The gentleman ended up PM me and told me he was just an average guy and could care less about the new coaster and felt he was being harassed and some treated him Combat Stupendous, so he would no longer post but that I should look out for something new in the coming years. The gentleman never posted again and I was amazed to see so many facts and details about his then rumor to actually take shape as he described many years before. I often wonder about him and wonder why he never came back to say "see I told you so!!!" but he has not to this day. Don't bother to go back and do a search of that topic as it was long ago deleted. So I guess that was the first time I had heard about it but at the time I did not know what to believe.

Thanks Todd for your time in sharing with us your first hand adventure with the biggest and most anticipated addition to the theme park industry. Your detailed report was worth the wait, you seem to know how to get us even more excited about coming down to see it ourselves. Looks like IOA will have another #1 dark ride attraction for many years to come. The thing that I am picking up on in your report is that overall you seem to be extremely impressed and that coming from someone who has been around the business and travels regularly to keep up with the latest, I have read most of your reports and you always seem to try to be both fair and to the point. This is great news indeed. BTW it was very nice to see you at HWHN over the weekend and I just loved the light show you guys put on. I think if you pitched that idea to Cedar Fair you could finance even the most imaginative coaster tour ever. I mean seriously I would buy those to put on for our group. Great idea. I look forward to more updates about Harry Potter from you if you feel there is more to share, in the meantime welcome home and stay safe during your travels.

HoliWood Nocturne A night song Hello everyone it has been about a month since I have last written a report of my amusement/theme park adventures. Due to weather and May’s always busy celebration activities regretfully I have missed a couple opportunities to visit my home park Kings Island but we do plan on a visit next week and hopefully a repeat of Kings Islands Train Tour. Since I my last report I have had the privilege to attend a couple coaster club events as a guest of two clubs ACE (American Coaster Club) and GOCC (Greater Ohio Coaster Club). Both events took place at Holiday World amusement park. The first event was called Holiday Hustle and offered 1 day completely filled with activates and morning/evening ERT (Exclusive Ride Times), coaster walk back tours. It has been about 8 years since my last visit so I was anxious to see all the changes I have been hearing about, plus when I visited last time I was unable to ride and coasters as I spent the day with my then 2 year old daughter. On Saturday May 15th I arrived at Holiday World with Brad Purdue and other fellow KICentral members to a Ace event called Holiday Hustle. We started our long day of activities and as promised the staffs of both ACE and Holiday World were there to greet us and to keep us well informed of the scheduled activities. After a before park hours activity we headed out to ride the ever more and more popular 3 wood coaster that Holiday World now runs. My first ride on Voyage was as a total shocker as I truly was not anticipating such a awesome ride experience, even though everyone I know has been Raven about it for years. During that day we toured the coasters from behind the scenes and checked out all the fun entertainment, shops and food selection Holiday World offered. I am still shocked at how Holiday World can offer a family so many choices at an exceptional price. I often brag about the way Disney always goes the extra step to ensure guests go away feeling they were treated to more than what would be reasonably expected. I feel Holiday World offers many entertainment activities that if they were not there most guests would not have noticed it or expected such offerings. Seeing those offerings first hand in my opinion shows me and explains to me how the park is so wonderfully run, they leave the guest leaving feeling that they have gotten their monies worth and that they received more than they expected. We ended our trip with 5 straight rides on each coaster without the need to get out of our occupied seats between rides. Most coaster enthusiast will understand the punishment one’s body receives from marathon riding coasters like that but also understand that is about the only way a true enthusiast can ever walk away from a park completely Coastered Out!!! After Coming home several of us felt we had such a great time that the only way to top such a wonderful trip like Holiday Hustle would to be to go to another scheduled coaster club event again scheduled at Holiday World, but this time it was for 2 days worth of activities. I was not sure with work and family if I could attend but in truth I longed for the opportunity to visit with my fellow KICentral friends on such a rare opportunity of 2 days jammed packed full of activities. Holiday Hustle put a spring in my step and the roar of the coasters as they sped through the dark woods with the occasion flicker of a fire bug. To be honest that scenario kept playing out in my head over and over almost as if it was my nocturne (nocturne = a piece of music appropriate to the night or evening). So on June 4th and 5th I attended Holiday Worlds coaster club event called HoliWood Nights with about 30 other KICentral members and hundreds of other coaster club attendees. Just like the first event I attended in May Holiday World rolled out the red carpet and treated us all like royalty and leaving nothing left for anyone to desire in a coaster event, including 3 meals, live band entertainment. 6 hours+ of private coaster rides on all three and 4 unscheduled ERT’s flat rides . See they went above and beyond when no one expected it. When we arrived they even handed each attendee a free ticket to come back another day of our choosing. So the only way I can share with you my Holiday Nocturne that rings around my head for these past two weeks is to try and share it with you through a short video. <object width='640' height='360'> <param name='movie' value='http://albums.phanfare.com/video_config.ashx?m=player&.swf' /> <param name='flashvars' value='config=http://albums.phanfare.com/video_config.ashx?m=conf%26hs=70cd18c1937dd0c0588a4e476234fd13%26u=1009485%26a=4705178%26i=101590609%26w=640%26h=360' /> <param name='allowFullScreen' value='true' /> <param name='bgcolor' value='#000000' /> <embed type='application/x-shockwave-flash' width='640' height='360' allowfullscreen='true' bgcolor='#000000' src='http://albums.phanfare.com/video_config.ashx?m=player&.swf' flashvars='config=http://albums.phanfare.com/video_config.ashx?m=conf%26hs=70cd18c1937dd0c0588a4e476234fd13%26u=1009485%26a=4705178%26i=101590609%26w=640%26h=360'></embed> </object> I like to thank Holiday World and everyone who participated in making such a fun memorable trip possible. I believe Holiday World is absolutely a must do park for everyone from the enthusiasts to the families who visit only on occasions. I know I will be taking my family back as a family and know that visit will be just as fun as it was with fellow enthusiasts. Jesse

Yes the photos are Great to look at and I enjoy the wide shots so I can get a feel for the area as a whole. As far as Cedar Point eating there heart, I think theirs is very nice and appropriate for the area besides I think if Cedar Point did not have it first then Kings Island may have never seen Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular.

Another fun and interesting read this morning Terpy. I enjoy these kind of articles a lot thanks.

Nice article Interpreter and it does try to be fair. Like I have said in another thread CP seems to be the catalyst when it comes to thrill seeking families from around here. But as you allude to about the prices I can attest first hand from numerous conversations I have with people in my community the after the gate prices are keeping some of them away. I mean some are still coming (I hope they do) and they know the prices but they still reference to them in the conversation. I can not imagine that Cedar Fair has not picked up on the communities feelings and perception of their prices. I know things will equal out over time but worry how much is loss in trying to win old loyal customers back once they get a taste of other destinations. P.S. This post should not be considered bashing the parks but a honest input on a conversation. I believe all Cedar Fair parks offer excellent value for a day at a amusement park.

LOL I love it Donnie, I really enjoy it when I see someone with a great sense of humor, especially if they take the time to pose and present it like you just did. Great work and thanks for the laugh this morning.

Todd we are looking forward to your first hand report about the new Harry Potter area and of course your always detailed and unbiased opinion about the new ride attraction and re theme of others. Have a great time.

Not when a regularly priced HW season pass is $149.95. Well since you brought season passes into the mix keep in mind Universal Studious annual passes (12 months) run $139.00 and Florida residents receive huge gate discounts. $139 for a year at Universal with all their special events and concerts blows every season/annual park pass away from all the parks I know of including Disney. For those interested in my 2 cents worth on this topic I own a small business here in Indianapolis and go into the smallest struggling business to the upscale corporate and a diverse types of business as well. Because of this I get a pretty good handle on the mood of the daily water cooler topic. In the past couple weeks I have had more conversations about people wanting to take their family to a amusement park this year and the three parks in play around here are CP, KI, HW. Cedar Points biggest hurdle around here is the distance and unless they are up for a overnight excursion so CP is quickly eliminated around here. Kings Island is highly touted for their rides and shows, but their high prices for food has been noticed and always enters the conversation. Holiday World is always brought into the conversation because of the free parking and drinks then they follow that up with "it is a good decent park and the water park is great". It seems to me that attendance will be up for all parks from the conversations I have had but here in Indianapolis it seems Holiday World is winning out as it seems most think that Holiday World is cheaper, so you see perception is key. KI has jacked their prices up so much and long that many are shying away while HW is gunning for we are a bargain. I mean think about a dad with two children wanting a treat from a food stand, a dad never wants to say "no its to expensive" or "you will need to share" when he his trying to be the hero and not look cheap. I do add in on the conversations with the ones I know about that in truth all the parks offer an exceptional value for what they get for the day and that in the end it will cost about the same. I also add that they should look at what their family enjoys in a park to make their decision. If they like live shows and lots of thrill rides then they should go to KI if they like a smaller mix of rides and shows but love water parks then Holiday World is a definite. My family just loves water parks and we are bored with Kings Island water park I am not saying it is bad because it is decent but little has been added so we are bored there now. I struggle with the food prices at Kings Island but take comfort on the gold deals but we just love the high thrills we get from the KI rides and adore the live shows. So with all that said my home park is and always will be Kings Island. Nothing ever remains the same and I know that the pendulum only swings so far and from the comments that I have heard from Kings Island guests they are shying away from KI because of the misconception of the overall cost of a visit to based on food prices versus other similar parks. Once KI figures this out I think their prices will drop which will increase at least my families visits.

The smoking areas are for the most part out of the way places except for a couple. Im a smoker and I always go to the designated areas. When I see someone smoking out of the areas I say something to them because I think they are rude and are going to ruin it for all of us. I think it would be good if someone found smoking out of the areas was injected out of the park. I think they should also let it be known that it will happen if your caught smoking out of the areas. Even Disney parks that are very kid friendly have designated smoking areas. I am going to be making a very serious effort to quit sone but even if I didnt smoke I would still believe smokers deserve a place to go. This is Avatar Jesses wife by the way