DoomPlague

Saw a big line for it on racer 15 minutes ago. I think it's being misreported on the app

Nah. I'm always interested in food options even though I'm a picky eater who avoids a lot of things. Its just that the season is winding down and there isn't as much to talk about.

A lot of enthusiasts, especially the younger ones, view Cedar Point as their sacred cow, often to the point of being obnoxious. I wonder if the voters are put off by that too. It seems to be human nature to let zealous fandoms affect our views of things like amusement parks, sports teams, products, etc.

I could see enthusiasts (which is a very small contingent of potential guests) holding off because of Matugani but I doubt the GP paid that much attention. Honestly, it sounds like they made a lot of mistakes including creating a brand new park in such a remote location. They bought a used SLC apparently without knowing about the model's terrible reputation and a used Intamin accelerator that was bound to have issues. I hope things come together for them but we probably shouldn't be surprised if the park continues to struggle.

Did the terms ever actually change or just the enforcement? I don't recall ever seeing those things promised for other parks and always assumed they were not included.

Opted to go to Cedar Point for the first, and possibly only, time this year. Last year I went the final week of weekday operation (which would be next week) and had very light crowds. I knew this week wouldn't be quite that good but I might have other plans next week. Got in the park just after 10 and got two hop-ons on GateKeeper including the front. I've warmed up to the ride. In fact, I think I like it more than Raptor. Everyone is kind of down on wing coasters but that's probably because B&M loopers are so common now. They give you actual visibility outside the front row and that's a big plus to me. After a ride on Tiki Twirl (trying to check off rides I haven't done), we skipped across to Raptor and went front row. Aimed for front row on a number of rides because I usually go to the back or middle and don't know when I'll be back. Anyways, Raptor is definitely not as smooth as it used to be but still fun enough. A little overrated, imo. Got in line for Valravn and it was probably 40 minutes. I knew it would probably lighten up later in the day but because of the park's long, narrow layout, I didn't want to come back to it. It's a fine support ride either way. Had one of my better rides on Blue Streak. There is so much play with the up-stops on that thing. It felt like the cars were coming up several inches off the track. Waited maybe 25-30 minutes for Millennium Force. Again, I had one of the better rides I've had. I felt legitimate floater airtime which often escapes me on it. Opted to eat at the new Farmhouse restaurant because they have steak on the dining plan. Not sure what cut they use but the steak comes in strips and you get a decent amount. It was brown and fairly tender. A bit heavy on the steak seasoning but overall it was good. Got it with the red-skinned potatoes which had a tasty, crispy skin to them. Had a 45 minute wait on Maverick. I'm not sure I've ever been on Maverick without waiting 40-60 or so minutes even on light days. Again, I aimed for the front and Maverick continues to be my favorite ride in the park. Those quick transitions and the second launch are just a lot of fun to me and it doesn't punish me the way certain other rides do... Steel Vengeance's line was surprisingly short but there was a maintenance delay. They announced they were taking a train out of rotation, so I decided to stay knowing that wouldn't be too long. I did notice they were letting way more people than I've seen in the past in to the locker/station area, so that added to the wait. After my rides last season, I've been torn about SteVe. Honestly, I understand why people rave about it but find it just too painful to love. Bad restraints and the boarding process don't help. Before getting to the station I saw an extra couple in the front line queue who clearly asked for the front and decided to do the same. But when I asked (for 2 people), the attendant insisted on row 4. I don't like to fuss and just went to row 4 but I saw no reason to not accommodate the request. Don't want to whine about it but I wish they were more consistent. Like I said, they had clearly let two other people ask for the front. Anyways, the ride is wild for sure but those small ejector hills really hurt me and the restraint makes it worse. Near the end of the day, I was riding alone, so understandably the attendant wanted me to stick with another single rider in row 2, but seconds later he said I could go to the front because another single came behind me. I appreciated that considering what happened earlier. And I think I enjoyed the front more than the back. Got a quick ride on Cedar Creek Mine Ride (not a big fan). Then I continued down Arrow Alley and went to Gemini which for some reason had at least a 20 minute line. Skipped that and went to Magnum which was a walk-on. Not a huge fan of Magnum because it often feels like someone is smacking my lap with a steel pipe. But we did row 17 twice in a row and I decided that was kind of fun. We then rode Corkscrew which...is what it is. I miss Vortex. Continuing to check off flat rides that I either haven't done or don't remember doing, we did Matterhorn, Lake Erie Eagles, and the train. I forgot how much of that skeleton scenery the train has. Wish KI would up its game in that department. We eventually hit Gemini when the line shortened. It's a decent ride but it is weirdly overrated by some people. For supper, we considered Back Beat Q but we do BBQ all the time at KI. Took a hike to Hugo's instead. Got the Pepperoni Piadina which is a flatbread wrap filled with pepperoni and cheese (so similar to Stromboli and calzones). It was pretty good but I wonder if the caesar salad I got as the side is what gave me food poisoning by the time I got home. Got in line for Iron Dragon but it had a delay and we bailed. Not a fan of that one anyways. Didn't bother with Rougarou either. Took the sky ride to save our feet a little bit. Got a reasonably quick ride on Millie (10-15 minutes maybe) and a decently short wait on SteVe and called it a day even though Maverick had, for once, a shorter than usual wait. In all it was a pretty good day. The lines were unpredictable but most were short. The crowd there seemed to be mostly vacationers. One thing I noticed is that many rides were running with one train in storage including Magnum and Corkscrew. Gemini was running one side. This wasn't the case on my trip on a lighter day last year but the extra trains clearly weren't needed.

Have the other intamin prefabs had issues like this? I believe SFGAdv creates its own prefab track pieces, so I wonder about its quality. Though honestly, as good as those rides may be, the fully prefab wood coaster concept appears to have failed. You pay steel coaster prices to build something that still needs re-tracked now and then and its expensive re-tracking to boot. Especially true now that we have new track options from Gravity Group and GCI.

From the official site: "Enjoy FREE PARKING, exclusive perks, discounts, and more with your 2023 Gold Pass. All Passholders: Enjoy FREE visits the rest of this year and UNLIMITED visits in 2023 at Kings Island." So you're good for this year, yes.

Also, has profanity always been banned? Seems like a strange rule for 2022, at least outside of kid friendly events like Trick or Treat.

I would like them to add "trying to scare other guests" to that list. I saw it a couple times last year and was like "No one is impressed that you can startle someone when you're obviously just another guest" Also, I really wish they would stress to guests that places in line can't be saved for your group. Most of the line jumping I see is when multiple people walk through the line to meet up with someone that they sent ahead. Sometimes rather large groups of people.

The only restrictions are Fright Lane and Winterfest. Should otherwise be good for rides during Halloween events.

That's what all the black lights are for. Helps with the cleaning. ...I preemptively apologize for this post.

Its quite possible to be honest but I think you have to raise the pass prices quite a bit to make any noticeable difference. Disney's approach is probably more pricing out people who aren't willing to spend extra money inside the park, imo.

The description for Hover & Dodge are Carowinds is humorous. Never thought I'd see "they are prone to malfunction" touted as a ride feature.

I'm a little disappointed that its not something more ambitious but its neat that its based on an old ride. Layout looks pretty good, so I think I'll plan a trip to check it out. I guess it makes sense that the first full titan track ride with infinity flyers is something more conservative (not especially large and no inversions).

I've been happy with my two visits to Jukebox this year. They have the better fries (outside of the new fries at Coney BBQ) that I've had. The Beast burger I had was good. The patty was pink like this picture but it didn't taste raw at all (its a mix of pork, bacon and beef).

Apparently Prestige+ at Carowinds is $75 cheaper. If it did include the extra perks at all parks, then that would be something people could exploit. But since it specifically mentions the 15% discount for all parks separately, I suspect you only get regular admission/parking and the discount and not the front of the line pass, preferred parking, etc? I probably won't get this but the bring a friend tickets do sweeten the deal. If you get one this year and two next, those are (arguably) worth $120.

From the ordering site: "Enjoy 2 meals every time you visit in 2022! Only a 4-hour interval is required between meals." The main site says "Enjoy lunch and dinner" which implies 2 meals as well.

I will echo sentiments that a new indoor eating option somewhere at the farther end of Coney Mall would be welcome. And also that Action Zone is the one area that needs an overhaul the most. And that the offerings at Festhaus need to be rethought. They have schnitzel this year for the 50th. How about we get some bratwurst?

This is the first I've heard you can get 3 meals at KI. The site clearly says 2. Though I certainly don't need 3 meals on any visit.

Yeah it is pretty much every time, but honestly its understandable. The average rider doesn't know about blocks and most coasters at the park don't do the same thing. As far as stopping at the top vs the slow climb, it seems like the slow climb also has the benefit of timing the trains to pass each other.

So a water slide in Canada managed to catch fire? If that doesn't prove global warming, I don't know what will.

Like KI Guy said, minors are not protected from discrimination. This is well established in the law. Even the government does it. That's not ever going to change. I'm not for a chaperone policy, except as a last resort, but there is nothing wrong with saying that teens cause trouble. There's a big difference between talking about the well established differences between teen behavior and adult behavior and talking about racial differences or whatever it is you are implying.

I understand what you're trying to say but the effect would only really be noticeable on light days and then you risk more seats going empty because people aren't getting to the station in time. On any other day, the time it takes to walk the switchbacks is too small to notice compared to the overall wait. Honestly, any time a bunch of switchbacks are open that don't need to be, I just check that I'm not cutting in front of someone and safely climb through the railings and no one minds.

Happy to see this. Sundays were a great time to go when they had it in the past in part because crowds were low. Though I suppose that's not guaranteed to be the case this year. The two sundays I went last October were busier than I expected.