Pagoda Gift Shop

I admit I am no expert in the food industry or restaurant business. I just don't understand how having a nice sit down restaurant isn't a great opportunity for the park to showcase excellent food and service. Maybe they haven't run it well enough? Maybe the food simply isn't good enough to be a draw by itself? Maybe they needed to go with a franchise that is recognizable and appealing? I also wish they had some plan to re-open the International Street Restaurant. My understanding is that it closed about 20 years ago because it simply was not profitable. That's too bad because being able to sit and watch the fountains seems like the perfect location for a mid-day break.

I didn't pick up on the change to how the Reds Hall of Fame grill operates until just today. I have to say, it is definitely a step backwards. The whole point of that place was to actually give Kings Island a location where they have full table service dining. The changes cheapen the experience to being yet another "place your order at the counter" place. I honestly have no idea what they are thinking in the food department. A table service restaurant is an opportunity to cook higher quality food at a slower pace, and to offer something different than the dozens of walk up locations everywhere else in the park.

It's hard to predict what the immediate future of DA will be. Back in 2011 when it opened, there were many who thought it would be gone by 2017. They might just be downsizing the size of the gift shop. They have downsized DA to the point where I believe only 3-4 employees are needed to staff it. KI has a ton of surrounding land available to them, so it certainly is not a "need" to use that land for something else.

I tried to use the app the other day with no internet or cell connection. It barely worked at all. You could view the blank, gray map, but not any lists of attractions or locations. There was also no error message or warning about not being able to connect to a server somewhere. No wonder it kills battery life so much, it is retrieving virtually all of its information from online all the time. I can understand the need to retrieve daily/weekly events and things like ride times, but the attraction information, images, etc. is all static content that should be included in the base app. Under the current design, it would honestly work better as a specialized mobile website.

In defense of the park, there are trees in every direction. So anytime they build anything, there are going to have to be trees cut down. I thought they did a nice job with Dinosaurs Alive of not taking out more than was needed. I also thought Mystic Timbers was well done. As for Diamondback, there were people who were most upset about changing the lake to a splashdown pool, but I didn't think that was all that bad. I just don't understand why the entire middle of the ride was 100% cleared of trees.

Kings Island has added a lot of great rides in the past 15 years, but it has come at the expense of how nice the park looks in areas. RIP trees.

I dropped by this evening and the park was busier on a Tuesday evening in June than I can ever remember it being. It felt more like late July. At 8:30ish the wait times I observed were: Delirium: 20-25 minutes Adventure Express: 10 minutes Racer: Station wait Diamondback: 30 minutes Backlot Stunt Coaster: 20 minutes Eiffel Tower: 10 minutes At 9:00 PM, I got in line for Mystic Timbers. The wait ended up being 45 minutes. It really hurt that they were only running 2 trains. The orange train was in the pre-shed. I bailed before the gold/platinum pass ride time since I knew the wait would be at least 30 minutes. The majority of the queues were open and in use.

I'm with you. I had the same issue where I had to force stop the app to make the "searching" notification go away.

How about the same thing they did for the 40th anniversary? New trash cans! Honestly, I don't anniversaries really mean anything to the park in terms of capital improvements or planning.

Based on the info on the following page, it looks like Linus' Beetle Bugs was the only ride which had the height requirement changed (that I can tell). https://www.visitkingsisland.com/play/rides-kids This is a very disappointing turn of events. It ultimately means someone didn't do their job, because the height requirements recommended by the manufacturer and then set by the park should prevent this sort of thing from ever happening.

I'm glad you stopped at guest services. That is the way to make sure your concerns are properly reported. I'm sorry to hear you had a bad experience.

This Friday will be more busy than a normal Friday due to the holiday weekend. However, just how busy it is depends on the weather.

Nice photos, thanks for sharing. I miss those trees where Backlot now stands.

We bailed as well when the rain rolled in at around 9:45 PM. From looking at Twitter, it looks like some (rainy) ERT did happen from 11:30-12:30 for those that stayed. I'm glad that those that stayed were rewarded. We didn't attend a whole lot of the various events at Coasterstock, but we still had a great time. Maybe next year can be the "rain-less" year.

I think weather can play a more significant factor for a weekend like Memorial Day than later in the season also. If the weather is bad, more people will stay away. It's still early in the season, so many people will just plan to go another weekend in June/July/August.

Maybe this thread should be re-titled "No Survey Markers by The Bat".

So, who went to the event on Tuesday night? How were the crowds?

It's not that hard to fake your location on your phone/tablet if you really are interested. I think it would be more worth it if the wait times listed in the app were actually accurate. They still don't seem to have a good system for keeping the times correct.

Yeah tonight around 8pm the app said the wait for White Water Canyon was 90 minutes. I don't think so...

So, forgive me for being pessimistic, but I feel like we really should document all the elements of the shed so we know when things change. I've heard some rumors of people talking about "easter eggs" if you know what to look for, and I'm curious if anyone has noticed something that most might miss. Theming tends to deteriorate. Whether it is Adventure Express (the spears used to pop out!), Tomb Raider (the eyes used to flash!), or whatever. Spoilers ahead! The 3 video endings all appear to be timed for different parts of the train. So depending on where you are sitting, the ending you see the most of is probably the one timed for your seat location. If you are sitting in the front and get the tree ending, you are not going to see the tree pretty much at all. I have yet to hear anyone definitely say what is different between daytime and nighttime endings. The vintage Coke machine not only lights up, but it also moves. I don't think I picked up on that until maybe my 7th or 8th ride. There is black light paint high up above you which is revealed when the lights flash as the train begins to move. As far as I could tell, it all said something like "It's in the shed". The voice warning just outside the pre-shed (transfer block) glitches when it says "do not go into the shed". At first I thought this was not on purpose, but it seems to do it every time. What else have other noticed? Of the above details, am I off the mark on some of them?

I received an email yesterday with Coasterstock details in it. It sounds like others who are registered did as well. I thought I would share in case someone expected to get an email but did not.

That question has already been answered in the preview night thread. https://KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/32640-2017-gold-platinum-passholder-preview-night/&do=findComment&comment=765214

I'm with you, Quantum. I think it is going to be a crowd favorite. I still think it will be in the running as the most popular coaster at the park. In a way, I feel bad for The Beast and The Racer, because they are about to get compared to a modern wooden coaster. I remember my view of both The Beast and Racer changed a lot after I went to Holiday World for the first time to ride Raven and Legend.

If years past are any indicator, a new KI app will be available in the app store soon. They almost always have a new one the releases with the new season.

"The ending was just like Adventure Express."