standbyme

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.

Two of my favorite things in life are Kings Island & Halloween….so Halloween Haunt is heaven for me. (I do prefer FearFest over the new Halloween Haunt name though.) I have been to every Fearfest so far…so I do think I am in a decent position to judge how good this year’s event compares to the older ones. First off let me say that after experiencing it I have come to this conclusion: Cedar Fair is just as good as Paramount for Overselling a new event, just like Boomerang Bay & Italian Job never lived up to the advance billing neither does the new Haunted Halloween. Don’t get me wrong, I had a very good time, but then again I always do at Fearfest. With all the talk of “taking it up a notch” I really had my expectations high…maybe too high. I will say that I saw some very impressive new decorations. The huge skeleton head at the entrance was amazing…and I’m sure not cheap to construct. My favorite new decorations this year were all of the very well made tombstones. The sign department should be very proud of them. But other than that, this year’s event was not much different than any of the years past…sure there may be a LITTLE more blood splattered in some of the haunts, and Club Blood was a LITTLE more daring but overall it was the “same old same old”. I have always felt it is better to UNDERsell something that way when it’s BETTER than people expected they are more happy in the end. (At least I am.) With that said here is a breakdown of my trip, I went Friday, Saturday & Sunday…from opening to close. We arrived Friday just as the park was about to open…as we were walking up to the entrance it was really cool to see an old park tram filled with skeletons…we always stayed at the campground when it was open so I have very fond memories of riding these back & forth to the park during Fearfest. The usual Phantom cars were also up front as well as the old SOB cars this year. Walking into the park you are greeted with a very impressive display at the foot of the fountain. I must admit, even though this year’s display was defiantly more elaborate I still prefer last years. There were also the Halloween Haunt hearses sitting there…and since we don’t live in the area it was nice seeing them up close in person. Looking around you could see LOTS of scaracters running around everywhere. There were at least 2 sliders up front…although they don‘t “spark“ like they used to. (Any of you sliders want to answer this for me: How hard is that on the knees?) Most of the scaracters were just in face makeup and an outfit but there were a few full costumed creatures. My favorite guy running around this year was this guy: The biggest and I do mean BIGGEST disappointment was that Don “The Undertaker” was not on duty either Friday or Saturday night! I had heard that he was coming back this year…so with him not there it was a major disappointment. There was a “host” and I am sure he was giving it his all, and he was not too bad…but he was no where near as good as Don was last year. The big difference between the two in my opinion was that whereas Don seemed to actually be the host of the front of the park, the new guy just seemed to get lost in the crowd. (And no, I do not think I could have even done nearly as good as the “new” guy…so even while I am saying this, I know that this guy is still doing a better job than I could have.) The crowd tonight was not bad at all…it is true what they say about Fridays…they are better….and be warned, Saturdays are a NIGHTMARE! (Pun intended.) We could have done EVERY haunt/maze/show on Friday if we wanted to, PLUS countless rides… whereas on Saturday it was so much more crowded we could probably only get about the haunts done & a couple of mazes…and that is if we were persistent. The first haunt we chose to do this Friday evening was the new “Club Blood”. There was hardly any line so we only waited about 5 minutes. The outside of the club looked interesting…I always like “good” graffiti. (I am curious, can anyone tell me what the big letters on this fence say? I have tried to figure it out but can‘t.) I forgot to mention, I do not take too many pictures inside the haunts because I do not want to affect the atmosphere or hurt the scaracters eyes…so when I do take them it is usually without a flash unless I am “alone” in an area. I thought Club Blood was ok…it did have a few “risky” things but overall it was nothing “over the top” like I was lead to believe by the park’s hype…and a few posters on here. Next we wandered by “Carnevil“…which obviously is just the 3-D Circus under a new name. This haunt was about the same as always…the only minor disappointment is that the polka-dot clown that usually hides against the wall was just dancing around the room, plus the outfit was too short and you could see the person’s white tennis shoes. As we were walking to each haunt I would try & take as many pictures of the displays along the way. In this photo I was about to take a long shot of this whole set-up because no one was in the vicinity when these “idiots” had to step in front of the display! (Just kidding.) After this we went over to the “Tombstone Terror-tory” haunt. This was the haunt that I had high hopes for and couldn’t wait to do. I was also looking forward to seeing if I could pick out “Hauntguy”. Let me say…this haunt was a TOTAL waste. Every person in our group felt the same…I heard several comments near the exit from strangers saying things like “Is that all?”, “That was lame”, “That sucked, etc… On Saturday there was no line late in the evening so we tried it again to see if we just caught it at a bad time…it was EVEN WORSE Saturday! We counted the scaracters throughout the maze…there were 14, and half of them didn’t even attempt to scare anyone. When we made it to the end there was some kind of Cedar Fair exec standing there with a clip-board…he asked me what I thought of it…I said it very polite, but I just told him that we all thought it was just awful. (He seemed a little surprised.) I later found out that all minors have to leave at Midnight…so a lot of the haunts lost quite a few people which might explain our Saturday experience, but we went through it at around 9 o’clock on Friday. I would say this is hands-down the haunt that I would avoid. (Sorry Hauntguy) Next up we did “Red Beard's Revenge”…which wasn’t bad but seemed like nothing more than “Cowboy Carnage” taken over by pirates. If I had never been to Cowboy Carnage I probably would have rated this one a little higher. The decorations outside were nice. We were going to go through “Cornstalkers” next but we ended up at the exit and didn‘t feel like going around to the entrance, and since we were near “The Worksite“ we decided to do it. In the past this walkthrough hasn’t really impressed me but this year did. There were a lot of props and quite a few people jumping out plus the fog was good too. Speaking of fog, Friday night was great for fog all over the park, the weather conditions must have been just right for it to stay low and in place. I have not seen it that consistently foggy since the very first Fearfest. (Although it could be just because the weather wasn’t “right” any other time I was there.) From the Worksite we headed over to “Massacre Manor”. Nothing really new here this year but I will give the actors inside credit, they seemed to be putting their hearts into doing a good job. After this we headed over to “Trail of Terror” Along the route down to the woods where you would stand in line the park has set up the house from Winterfest and a “ghoul” heckles you as you go by. When we were walking by him he seemed to be having a good time annoying the “taco guy” who DIDN’T appear to be enjoying it. If you go by him make sure you say something, he WILL say something back.The trail wasn’t bad, there certainly was enough stuff to look at. Another good thing about tonight was that we were being sent through in groups…not the endless conga line like in some years past. From the trail we went over to “Death Row”. I can easily say that this was my favorite haunt this year. I have always liked “Maze Of Madness” anyway, but this year seemed even better. Both of the “hosts” outside seemed to be really enjoying playing in character and interacting with the people in line. Inside the maze the scaracters really did a good job of making sure you didn’t get out real fast by pointing you in the wrong direction. At one point the people in our group got separated and I actually ran into them face to face from the opposite direction from a different pathway. We liked this one so much we did it twice. After this maze we rode Firehawk and then headed for “The Cemetery”…but since it was almost 1 o’clock it wasn’t that happening, it was almost a “ghost town” (Once again pun intended) We did come back and do this Saturday night…it was better, but still not that much to brag about. That was pretty much it for Friday night. Besides being a LOT more crowded, Saturday night was pretty much a rehash of Friday with only one notable event…”Cornstalkers” apparently caught on fire. We were nearby and it smelled like someone was burning leaves…then a fire-truck went by. Cornstalkers was then closed down. Over in Rivertown there were about 4 of the Cornstalkers scaracters hanging out while they were waiting for it to re-open. When it did re-open we were some of the first to go through and the pavement was all wet and there were some kind of regularly dressed park personnel walking around inside…so it wasn’t a very good haunt…makes me wish we would have made it through the night before. It was near 1 o’clock again so tonight we finished with a couple of rides on The Beast…so all was good. We did do Nick-Or-Treat both Saturday & Sunday and it was good…but nothing really worth going into detail on here since MOST people don’t really care about it! I did take quite a bit of photos...but unfortunately most of the time I was "rushed" so I did not get many that I truly think are great, but here are some more photos to give you an idea of some of the stuff around the park: http://www.putfile.com/standbyme/images/150482 Also, you might want to go to the park as soon as possible because I saw SEVERAL cases of the displays being vandalized by the public, lots of broken skeletons & missing parts…it was really obvious Sunday. Gotta love the public. In conclusion let me say that I did think that this years Halloween Haunt was very good…but not quite what level that it was hyped to be. I do not mind if they have an up-charge next year if only because it will keep the crowds in check. Also, as a side note I think that the park is not taking into consideration that people of all ages enjoy Halloween. To make Halloween Haunt so explicit that they (supposedly) do not want anyone under 13 attending yet Nick-Or Treat is for kids up to maybe 7-8 doesn’t make sense. (No 9-12 year old kid wants to converse with a talking pumpkin or “find” a pumpkin in a stack of pumpkins.) What are the families that have kids aged 9-12 supposed to do? I am sure there are several families that had our problem this year, we have kids ranging from 2 months to 16 years. We travel almost 3 ½ hours to the park…leaving our kids with a babysitter in our hometown is not realistic nor is trusting a “stranger” in Ohio. I still think that Halloween Haunt could have some haunts that are just old fashioned “safe” ones and a few marked for teens/adults only. Kings Island has always been a family park and I hope it tries to stay that way.

I love the park...but I am not blind to reality. The only "demographic" Kings Island is attempting to attract is ANYONE with money. I think overall that the park is over-hyping this event to sound a lot "worse" than previous Fearfests in hopes of getting people's hopes up that it is just so amazingly over-the-top that you don't dare miss it...when in reality it is NOT that much different than years past gore wise. (There are some really nice new decorations though.) And as for saying that this is not intended for children period...then please try and explain this, if the park cares so much about not upsetting the children under 12 why is it on both Saturday & Sunday during the regular park hours when children ARE expected to be in the park does the park still have graphically bloody items on display? (Examples are the HUGE display case of the bloody skeletons as you walk in the entrance, the cook-out set-up of body parts over near Larosa's. (I was walking by and heard a little kid asking their parent what the scene meant.) Then there is the keg party, stripper skeletons on International Street, the body bagged person on the bandstand,etc... All of this is out when children are expected to be out & about in the park. I know the park did cover-up about 4 things that they considred worse...but I don't buy that the park is THAT worried about what the children might see or not see, otherwise they would ENFORCE an age limit instead of just recommending it. It all comes down to the money. (Mr. Krabs would be proud!) And as for trying to discourage parents from bringing their children to Halloween Haunt by not allowing re-entrys how customer friendly is that, and logical. With this set-up I picture some parents making their kids endure it once their in because they know they can't take them home and come back. I went Friday, Saturday & Sunday and I will post a trip report with pictures when I get a little time.