BoddaH1994

The new snowflakes on the fountain looked really good. It also appeared like there were more lights, specifically across from Enrique's sticks out. 40% more? Eh. We ate at Coney BBQ, or whatever it's called for this event. The turkey was fantastic. I also had the corn poutine, which was very good. They also had buttery biscuits instead of hush puppies, which was a huge step up. As many observed, the line for Mac 'n Cheese was pouring into Coney Mall while Enrique's had next to nothing. That poses the question of why didn't KI add the Mac bar when many other parks did, and if this is a referendum on Enrique's at all. They "redid" the restaurant this year, but it was the same food as it has been for.a decade. I was always eyeing that place for a revamp, but it never came. Tinker's, as always, was a gem. It was funny, high energy, and fun! I feel like that show should be a bigger production, though. The show is such a staple and I think more effects, fly-in sets, etc would be appropriate. It's still a huge step up from Charlie Brown, which I thought was a bit of a waste of that venue. Coney Mall is merged with the Coca-Cola Cool Zone this year. The lights don't really go with the music anymore since there's a DJ, but I don't think that's a big loss since the pixel mapping stuff is pretty wide-spread now. The tree looks good with the more dense lights; however, they are still having the issue that they had last year where the moving graphics seem to stutter. Either there's some sort of network issue or the computer pushing out the Madrix software is underpowered. It's one of those things that not everyone would notice, but those who do would REALLY notice. The park put out a promo photo including the inflatable globe. That left last year. I responded asking if it was returning. The park didn't respond, but some others replied saying that it was back with one saying they are working it. I didn't see it though, although I didn't fully go through Action Zone. Did anyone else see it? On the episode of Tower Topics in which Don and I discussed the things that were cut this year, we had mentioned that people were reporting online that they cut the Merriment Characters from 30 to 15. One person responded implying otherwise. We also discussed how this may greatly affect the parade with less people, between the missing characters and the cut shows. I attempted to count the characters during the parade, but it was difficult to keep track because it's hard to tell who is a show (or otherwise) performer and who is a Merriment Character. I am happy to report that regardless, the parade did not suffer this year. It was a "full" as ever and the energy was good! Were the cut shows felt last night? Maybe. Nothing left a huge void; however, I still by my original fear that it will ultimately just feel like there is less to do, without being able to put your finger on it. Blitzen Band, Jingle Jazz, and Holly Jolly weren't exactly the things that sold tickets, but it was certainly an added value. The lights truly do look great, but are people going to spend 4 or 5 hours looking at the lights? That I don't know. But you run the risk of people choosing between KI and the zoo for this sort of thing. People who get into KI for free will go, while people that may spend money may go to the zoo. See also: Haunt. Also, this is something that is interesting. They started a new program where you can purchase a Winterfest wand and interact with things around the park. People were seeing the touch points and texting me asking what they were. This should be a big deal. This could have been a news story. At the least, this could have been a strong social media story. I didn't find out what exactly this was until after I left for the night, but it was never communicated out properly. It will be interesting to see how things pan out moving forward.

I bought my Vortex model with the full intention of painting it. That was 3 years ago. It’s still wood colored.

lol the TAS Lady…

…as adorable as it is predictable.

I have not.

HP is such a bucket list park! Can’t wait to visit!

Looks like I was wrong then.

They're charging $15.49 for a Cobb salad. An extra $1 is a cash grab.

Presumably Gravity Group is at it again! https://themeparksbydon.com/kings-islands-racer-undergoing-extensive-track-work/ Pic added by @IndyGuy4KI.

“One little spark… of inspiration… is at the heart… of all creation.”

I hope it’s fake. It’s widely spread though. Just imagine paying $22 for a cup-sized portion of food at Grain & Grill and a drink and adding a $1 because their costs are too high. That’ll go great!

I’ve seen this circulated online for a few days now. Can anyone confirm authenticity? If it’s true, behold your future.

Nothing wrong with it. It was just funny that he called it like he did.

Here’s a funny anecdote. Last night, Don and I were planning for Tower Topics and he mentioned off hand that they’d use the "ONE. MORE. WEEK!” that he used at this point this time last year. …and Nailed it. As adorable as it is predictable.

How did the cowboys do it?????

Yes, and other parks still have it. Not sure why KI’s is gone. Maybe it was a dispute with the vendor. Maybe it was that the hooves were messing up the pavers.

Additional thoughts: What? …plus this dispels any theory that the HJT was not being used because of problems with the vehicle itself. It’s budget cuts. So they’re decorating that area and now calling it its own wonderland? Does it have a theme? It was decorated previously, why wasn’t it a wonderland then? Just asking, not knocking it. Maybe they have something cool planned? It’ll still be interesting to see if 2 million extra lights pans out. Someone mentioned the train. I haven’t seen mention of 12 days of Christmas. Are the lights going there? If they are, are you adding them to the lights that were already there? If not, did you add 2 million lights or just replace 2 million lights? Also... here's a dime's worth of advice for free. Why on earth is the USA Today thing not linked in this article? Edit: Kind of like this: https://themeparksbydon.com/lake-compounce-unveils-the-magic-of-holiday-lights/

Kings Island released a blog about Winterfest today. In a recent Tower Topics, Don Helbig and I posed the question of, “where will these extra two million lights be?” This forced the answer that is in this blog. The answer: eh…. they’re around. https://www.visitkingsisland.com/blog/2023/november/winterfest-2023-preview?utm_source=park_facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=winterfest_park_map_11_16_23&utm_id=23WAS&fbclid=IwAR2CLluzvdN8fCU3VcTIgcRicVpn13jFEcESMtF7HFhSTenSYTlT0Dwxzp4_aem_AVb5eEj5r0r332z3gEcB03gcg8wAyeJJXxqVCXKxq97v4paY5oHYlnVULTQhAEGyuQPCAdya90JANIh6qSLQoDvL Alternatively, here is a blog by TheParksByDon.com that paints a pretty cool story of what Winterfest is: https://themeparksbydon.com/kings-islands-winterfest-promises-joy-festive-fun-for-all-ages/

“See? We cut 3 shows and STILL won! No one even noticed.” Be careful with your votes.

So if the SPX says the calendar is subject to change, wouldn’t it be reasonable to say that the smart thing, for those who haven’t purchased their passes yet, would be to wait until on or just before opening day to make their purchasing decision so they have a better feel of what the product they are purchasing looks like? Some people only make a handful of visits per year. Being pushed out of one or two via the calendar may deem whether the pass a reasonable value for them or not.

In their defense, outlets like Ticketmaster do the same thing. I’ve heard they are changing the law so the face price needs to include fees or something like that. It’ll be interesting to see if parks are affected by this. Dishonest? Yes. Widespread? Also yes.

I'm not saying they should. I'm saying that if you are in the market for tickets you should probably wait since the parks that open this week are running a flash sale and it is likely to hit KI next week when they open.

Audio Animatronic geese poop, but yes.