standbyme

Being that I live in Illinois and there is a lot of driving time involved, I figured that the trip report I posted for my Halloween Haunt opening weekend would be about my last trek to Kings Island this year…but luckily I was wrong! Now anyone who has read my thoughts about HH this year know that I have been a little critical of it. (Nothing more than Fearfest with a new name and a LITTLE more “mature audience” stuff.) I think that Cedar Fair and Paramount are both equally as good at getting your hopes up that you are going to see something really amazing…only to be let down. (I.E. Boomerang Bay, IJST…and Halloween Haunt.) Maybe if I didn’t fall for the hype I would be happier…but I AM learning to not get my expectations too high. Anyway, with that said, what got me to drive all the way back to the park this year…Fright Feast did! I saw a picture posted of the food being served out of a casket and figured that looked too cool to pass up…I didn’t want to miss the chance to experience that. (Especially if the park doesn’t do it next year.) Usually when my family goes to the park we make the drive “worth the while” and stay two days…this was only going to be for about a half a day visit to the park! (We did not plan on staying for Haloween Haunt…especially with the way the crowds have been…and I knew that the last Saturday of HH was going to be packed.) We left our town at about 7:00 A.M. and arrived at the park at about 12:15. I won’t bore any of the younger people in here with how we spent the day in Nickelodeon Universe with the little ones…but that is always a great time. It really is weird how even when you love riding coasters and all the other adult rides, you don’t mind giving them all up for the day because it’s JUST as much fun watching your kid “light up” when they are riding their rides. (And THAT is what Kings Island is about to me…family time and great memories down the road.) We spent the whole day up until 5:00 in Nickelodeon Universe. The only comment about Nick-Or-Treat that I will comment on is…What is the park thinking having Spongebob’s foam maze running on a “cold” day. We were not “stupid” enough to go into it, but tons of kids were. It also appeared that their were several sorry people who didn’t quite comprehend how wet their kids would be when they came out. It just seemed cruel to even put the temptation in front of the kids. The only thing that I did that was outside NU was fill up one of those “$10.00 all of the Paramount stuff you can fit in a bag” specials early in the morning. It was around 12:45 when I did this. I was just walking by the shop when an employee outside “lured” me in! I took a bag from her and went inside to see what might be left…and it wasn’t much…but they did have something I wanted badly…30th Anniversary maps! A long time ago I started a project where I needed LOTS of maps. I contacted the park about buying some in bulk but they said they thought they were all gone…so I was surprised to see a stack sitting on the table. The employee was standing near me and so I asked her how it worked again…she said “Whatever you put in the bag it’s $10.00”. So I said…“So I could put that WHOLE stack of maps in my sack and that would be ok?” She said yes…and so I reached over and took them all…when she saw me do it she smiled and said “That’ll work!” (They obviously wanted everything gone a.s.a.p.) There was not too much left to choose from, some Top Gun pins, season pass holder/wallets, kids hats, Boomerang Bay sandals, Scooby Doo sandals, season pass refillable cups and a couple of cheap kids toys. T-Shirts were a dollar a piece…but pretty much all that was left were the polo type shirts. I put a few other things in my sack and left VERY happy. Yes I felt a little bad taking all of the maps…but I guess NOT that bad! When I stopped by the shop later in the evening, the sack deal was over and everything appeared to be $1.00 each…and it was pretty much just shirts and season pass cups and sandals. So, on with the purpose of this trip report…Fright Feast. I don’t know if it was because I tried to keep my hopes down or what…but I thought Fright Feast was incredibly well done. The park put a lot of effort in the whole “funeral home” theme. As you walked up the steps you were greeted with this sign: It was all of the little touches that made it so special, for example, as you reached the top of the steps you were greeted with a guest sign-in book just like at a real funeral. We arrived just a little after 5:00 and was greeted with a fairly long waiting line to get our food…but the line moved pretty fast. The set-up was different from the last time I was up in the (former) International Restaurant this time the food was all in the left-side room above the steps. There was mystery involved, as you are standing in line you couldn’t see what was in the “food room” because of a set of curtains. When I finally made it through the curtains it was even better than I could have expected. Four caskets lined the walls, 1 with drinks & the other 3 for food. In the food caskets the food was sitting on a glass panel and if you looked underneath that you would see a skeleton looking up at you. Off to the side there was a complete mock funeral set up complete with chairs, couches & (of course) a casket with a body. One of the little touches I liked was dead flower arrangements spread around the room. In the bar area there was another casket with a skeleton that had a nametag that read “Craig Ross”. As for the food itself…it was the same variety that you would expect to find at the picnic grove…nothing to write home about, but not awful either. (How’s that for praise!) I am not that picky with food as long as it is not over-priced…and I think for the effort put into this event I certainly got my moneys worth. The ONLY thing that disappointed me was that it did not turn really dark before we had to leave the restaurant…I would have liked to have seen the view of the fountain & the tower lit up from up there. We had a nice leisurely dinner and when they started to line people up for “Club Blood” we decided it was time to leave…it was around 6:30. (Like I said earlier, we did not want to deal with the Saturday HH crowds.) All in all we had VERY good day at the park…and even though our travel time was longer than the time we spent in the park it was well worth the trip. Here are some more pictures of the event: http://www.putfile.com/standbyme/images/156598 So, let me say to any of the park staff that might be reading this, you did a VERY nice job & I hope you have this again next year. Thanks!!!

Not that I will be doing it anyway...but i'm just curious, has the "put The Beast to sleep last ride of the year" tradition also been put to sleep this year? I haven't heard anyone talking about it.

On this site I kinda feel that I have to say this like I am at an A.A. meeting..."Hi, my name is Standbyme and I was a member of Ace"! Why do I say that? Because Ace definitely seems to get a bad reputation here. I was only a member for a year about a year ago. I admit I joined for selfish reasons, I wanted to attend their Beast Bash event to do the behind-the-scenes stuff, so I joined just for that. Before I joined I thought really hard if I wanted to join a club that I had heard so many bad things about on here just to see some behind-the-scenes stuff. By the impression I got here I really thought of it as either joining a squad of geeks or egotistical coaster fanatics. This is the FIRST time I have ever mentioned on here that I was a member! I took a couple of people with me to Beast Bash, but beforehand I warned them what kind of people that I had heard we would be hanging out with that day. So what did I find out? The things I had read on here were GREATLY exaggerated. I found that the majority of the people there were "normal". I was surprised to see familys in attendance...by what I had read here it didn't even occur to me that an Ace member did anything except ride coasters. During the whole day I only overheard one person fit the "egotistial description"...he seemed to know about every lap bar in every coaster and how certain trains should switch to them etc...but he was the only person I came into contact like that. It is just like this board, you get all types so you can't judge the whole board by a few posters. So in conclusion let me say that even though I was an Ace member I readily admit that I was not then, nor will I ever even come close to knowing 1% of what can be known about coasters...nor do I care...I take them for face value and just like riding them. Also...I am sure I will rejoin when the next Halloween event hits at Kings Island.

VERY nice trip report...and well thought out. I did not see your report as simply negative. I think your criticisms were not only on taget but should be considered constructive. I, like you think the overhyped name change was not really necessary...except for saving Cedar Fair the expense and trouble of having to make both Fearfest and Halloween Haunt shirts for their parks!

Thanks for the trip report...I always like yours because of the pictures. You have given me hope that MAYBE the crowds will not be TOO bad this Saturday during the daytime!

Even though I know the crowds in the park are probably gonna be awful I purchased tickets last night to the Saturday Fear Feast. The pictures I have seen of it makes it too cool to pass up. I plan on getting to the park at noon and leaving pretty much right after we eat at Fear Feast...so hopefully the daytime crowds are not that bad.

Hi, Thanks for posting. I am going this weekend and have tickets to the Fright Feast. Could you tell me where you DO stand to go in. (If you are IN the park looking OUT towards the parking lot is it the usual entrance on the right...nearest to the line where you get your hand stamped to go out?) I am sorry that you got "jumped on" for your post. A lot of people seem to be a little testy with negative comments around here lately...maybe it's the thought of the season coming to an end?! I understand you adding your Golden Ticket comment to just give a little insight that you do know what an amusement park is supposed to be like. I did not find it egotistical to mention. If people don't think that the Golden Tickets awards are anything it's funny that a LOT of people go out of their way to brag when Kings Island wins one. Thanks again.

So far I am the only person that voted for Death Row. It wasn't that it was THAT great but I enjoyed it the most because I sincerely got lost and it was a good time. A close runner up would have been Massacre Manor because the actors seemed to be giving it their all.

WOW! I'm closing in on your record...i'm only 1,052 behind you. You say you always buy your tickets in the morning...so you have no trouble using them at any point of the day? Have fun!

Thanks for coming to my defense "guys"...yeah I thought by starting it out with "to lighten the mood" and also by calling it Patrick's BODY, not costume it was pretty obvious I was going for humor...I guess everyones idea of what is or isn't humor IS different!

I have not commented on this thread...but in order to lighten the mood let me just say that none of the listed displays are the one that offended me the most. On the opening weekend of Halloween Haunt I was disturbed to see what appeared to be members of the KI staff parading Patrick Star's body through Nick Universe in not one, but two "body bags"...obviously he had been dismembered! With the picture of Patrick in the background it's almost like a memorial service.

Were those there on opening weekend? If so I can't believe I missed them! Does anyone have a picture?

A short "official" link: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...756C0A965948260 And, by no means an official article, but here is another link: http://www.forgottenoh.com/Counties/Warren/kingsisland.html

The only time I remember them in the past they were in a boat, but they were dressed as pirates and anchored near viking fury.

I must admit I saw the display and the Black Sunday accident didn't come to mind.

Hi, I was not aware that Bill also had a hand in this! I did not remember that. I am referring to when George upped it even more in 2003...now it's 45%. Here is another link that states what I am talking about: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concentration...media_ownership I disagree with you that they when all is said and done that they don't decide what THEY think the public should listen to. Companys such as Clear Channel have a "formula" that they apply to their stations across the country. In our small town we have 5 radio stations, 3 are owned by the same company. In the end, when you have just a few program directors deciding what the major radio stations are playing you get less variety...just ask the record labels. (I am sure payola is still alive and well...just not so obvious.) P.S. I think we did a good job at hijacking this thread...and thanks for the history lesson!

I do not listen to radio...radio is what has ruined the music scene today. Thanks to the current administration...they changed the laws that were around for DECADES. Before "W" there was a set limit on how many stations one person/company could own but he lifted that limit. The reason a limit had existed in the past was to limit one person/companys influence on the country. Now with so few different station owners a few companys decide what they think the public should listen to...look up Clear Channel. I work in an independent music store...one of the last few remaining in the country so thankfully I do not have to rely on the radio. Yes I listen to "other types of rock"...but I am diversified. In my original post I did not say I was offended...and I wasn't, I was just pointing out that over and over people have said that if you do not WANT to "experience" the show, don't go...well I didn't go but I still "had" to listen to some of it just by waiting in line for Cornstalkers. I did not say "water them down". It could be that the people who are walking out are not offended in the least...they may just find the show not good for some reason...it could be the music selection, the performance etc... It is only SMART to try and figure out what people do and do not like about the show. Broadway shows do a lot of "tweaking" to get thing "just right".

I do not find it that rude to walk out of a show mid-way if you are not enjoying it...for whatever reason. A performer should be aware that these things happen all the time and not take it too personally. (BUT if several people are walking out nightly maybe someone should step back and examine the possible reasons in order to rectify the "problem".) The people I find rude are the ones who don't leave and talk during the show like it's not even going on...and of course anyone who boos should be shown the door. Also...even if someone doesn't "choose" to experience Dead Awakening it can sometimes be thrust upon them...I "had" to listen to about 15 minutes of it while standing in line for Cornstalkers.

I think if you don't plan on taking him into the haunts you will easily be fine...there are some displays along the sides, and some of them do have lots of red paint/blood dripping, but you should be able to see them before he does and avoid them. My 3 year old Nephew loved walking around in the fog & looking at the "monsters"...and unlike what is being hyped MOST of the mosters do have a heart and do not try & scare the little ones. I will say that you should be prepared for some employees and a few guests to make you feel like a failed parent by even bringing your kid in though. We had 3 different employees stop us and pretty much beg us to reconsider...and even some rude comments from a couple of strangers. I know I should take it good that they care, but their delivery was rather insulting. (When we explained that we were not taking them into any haunts they usually lightened up a bit.) We know our kids and we would NEVER take them into a haunt at an early age but we also knew that they would (and did) enjoy looking at the fog around the park...even the roaming monsters put a smile on my Nephew's face. (Cue Addams Family theme song!) As long as you know your son's limitations and don't force him to do anything you know he wouldn't enjoy I say go and feel secure that you are not a bad parent.

Congratulations & many happy years!

I personally think that almost all 13 year olds wouldn't bat an eye at 99% of the things they will see...but the park is really going out of their way to make sure that you know that THEY think it is explicit...and making you feel like a failed parent if you even take anyone younger in just to look around at the fog & decorations.

Since we have been told several times that the park DOES read this message board I think this would be a good opportunity to let them know our actual thoughts…whatever they may be. My family has ALWAYS treated Halloween & Fearfest as a family event. There have always been certain things at Fearfest that we have not felt were appropriate for children, but those events we simply skipped…and we still had a great FAMILY time. Last year we took turns rotating watching the youngest children while someone else did a haunt. At one point I rode the Carousel over and over with our smallest one while the others did some of the haunts, it was a very nice time. (This year that was not even an option.) I am both disgusted and amazed that a park that prides itself on being a family park all through the spring/summer season finds it acceptable to just “shut out” a big percentage of it’s loyal customer base to one of it‘s special events. There is a big age gap of customers being ignored who are too old for Nick-Or-Treat yet to young for Halloween Haunt…which then in turn affects the entire family that has a child in that age bracket. Is that any way to treat the “demographic” that I believe is their main support throughout the season? This year I did not see TOO many things that were much worse than anything last year VISUALLY…although there did seem to be a few things that shouldn’t have been on display during the daytime when children were in the park, BUT there was language that I never thought I would hear a Kings Island employee utter. (2 examples that I heard were a scaracter calling someone a b*stard, and another one asking a girl “If her carpet matched her rug.”) Normally a park guest is not supposed to use foul language and CAN be ejected from the park…which I am all for, but I guess if Kings Island slaps up a for “Mature Audiences Only” sign even their own employees can sink to a level of behavior that the park would usually not deem acceptable from even a GUEST. I do not see how having mature language and excessive gore makes for a better/scarier haunt. And as a note to the park, for certain members of my family our Season Pass buying (Even if Halloween Haunt is an up-charge next year) IS influenced by whether they can attend Fearfest/Halloween Haunt. I hope the park comes to realize that this event can be made so that it is both scary & fun for anyone 10 (maybe 11) & up. P.S. Try to only make “constructive” criticisms so that this thread stays open. P.P.S. I hope the park does some "real" surveys to get the "normal" park-go'ers opinions on Halloween Haunt.

Ki Man, As always a good trip report...I agree with a lot of your opinions, nice pictures too. Thanks for taking the time to type it all up!

Speaking of the "P" word, on Friday night while riding the train during Tombstone Terror-tory the host started out by welcoming everyone aboard Paramount's Kings Island...then stopped himself and said something like "I guess it's not Paramount's anymore". I'm guessing he's been with the park awhile!

When we went through Tombstone Terror-tory Saturday night it wasn't much after Midnight. The person who started you off into the haunt in groups was not a costumed host but a park exec. I joked with him and said "Didn't your costume show up on time?" and he said "We just had to let all the minors go home so I had to fill in". He didn't actually say Midnight but I just assumed that since he said they just let them go and it wasn't too much after Midnight that that's what he meant. P.S. I added more photos to my link in the first post.