XGatorHead 8904

sounds like you got to deal with an ignorant man child just trying to show off his new toy. Either that or he was just blowing off steam. We went to the Bruno Mars concert a few weeks ago at US Bank Arena. Between the opening act and the main act, we saw a woman a few rows below us using an e-cigarette. Mrs. Gator thought it was a real cigarette, said "She can't smoke in here!" and started coughing. I laughed at her psychosomatic response and explained to her what an e-cig is and that it's just vapor, not actual smoke. Once I explained that, she mysteriously quit coughing...

Also, typically the earlier you go in the Haunt season, the less crowded it should be. As it gets closer to Halloween, expect larger crowds.

^True. I dealt with a rather rude Security officer on Sunday (which I immediately went to GR to talk to them about, ended up speaking with a manager and the situation was resolved to my satisfaction) but the majority of them are responsible and helpful. I don't let one bad apple sully my opinion of the department.

Except for the free donuts they had on several occasions at the Dino pad for season pass holders. I believe they were Busken, and they were quite yummy.

Mmmm... love the Buckwheat pancakes. It's been way too long since I've been to The Original Pancake House, even though there's one only five miles from my house.

Remind me to have you carry our stuff around at Kennywood, Conneaut Lake, Waldemeer & Canada's Wonderland in a few weeks! (Just kidding... now that GatorGirl's grown more we carry a lot less stuff than we used to!) There's no such thing as too much cheese on a coney!

^You've asked the question that has plagued me for years. GatorGirl rides next to me in a big boy row, is she less safe in that row than in any other? I don't think so.

I rode Banshee this past Sunday. We got to the top of the stairs, and the group in front of us was placed in row 4, so we would logically be placed in row 5. Since I need the big boy seats, we told them we need row 4. The ride op told us that row 5 is now bigger seats as well. Not entirely believing him, I asked the ride op next to the train and he said it was true. Got in 5-3 and fit! So for us bigger folks, there are now 8 seats per train for us!

I got an email from CincySaver.com today with an offer for Kings Island tickets for $33.99 for use during Kings Island Kicks Cancer Days, July 25th - August 24th. $1 from each ticket sold online goes towards the Kings Island Kicks Cancer campaign.

C'mon, you mispelled it! It's Mötley Crüe, not Crew!

To a haunted attraction enthusiast, like myself, this would be very interesting. Just as coaster enthusiasts, like myself, would find blueprints for a new coaster interesting. We'll know soon enough what will and will not be. But everyone please keep speculating... it makes for interesting reading and is a great source of amusement! (I just love this time of year, comparing everyone's thoughts to rumors I may have heard, and shortly, to facts that I will soon be privy to but will not leak before their time... so don't even ask! )

The only ride I've experienced a power hour on was Diamondback, and that was a several times over the past few years. Every time I've been to one I feel rushed, which I don't like. Now, I don't take a long time to get in my seat and buckled and restrained, I don't have bags to put in the bin, I know the procedure. Just don't rush me!

I've never understood the point of a power hour. Why does the park do them? Why do they think they're necessary?

I remember the same thing happening back in 1989 when the waterpark first opened. This is nothing new, but still mildly annoying nontheless.

I can't speak for current Cedar Fair policy, but during the Paramount era the rule was clear: everything was based on the time of purchase. If your kid was 3-6 years of age or under 48" when the pass was purchased, they could get the child pass. If they were 7 or older or over 48", the adult pass was required. There was a line painted on the frame of each ticket sales booth that indicated the 48" mark. No upgrading in the middle of the season was needed. Many people benefitted by buying in the fall when their kid was 47" and grew over the winter to be 48". Note: The above reflects the policy of the park's previous owners and may or may not reflect the current policies and practices of Kings Island and its parent company Cedar Fair.

We're going there tomorrow before the Cincinnati Pops concert at Riverbend. Definitely ride Rock-O-Planes, it's one of our favorite rides there. I like Coney's Scrambler better than KI's. The Flying Bobs and Tilt-A-Whirl are also lots of fun. As many times as I've been there, I've never ridden the Dodgem's but I hear they're good. I plan on finally riding them tomorrow.

^Children below the height requirement can still wait in line with the parents/others that may be riding. Just because someone was measured at the start of the line and deemed tall enough to ride doesn't mean that someone couldn't try to take advantage of that and try to get their kid on that doesn't meet the requirement. You see it all the time at rides, and it's been referenced earlier in this topic... "but my kid rode earlier today..." And once they're sitting in the seat, it's difficult to tell someone's actual height just by seeing their torso. By asking a child to get out of the seat to be measured, the ride ops are doing their jobs of ensuring that no one too short is riding. Better to be safe than sorry later if something were to go wrong.

^Buzz bars, no head rests, no seat dividers, comfy seats and skid brakes... those were the days!

Marvel characters appearing at non-Universal & non-Disney parks is really nothing new (just new to KI and its guests). Idlewild has been having Marvel Superhero days for the past several years. This year's is July 7-11 with appearances by Captain America, Thor, Hulk and Spider-Man. https://www.idlewild.com/plan-a-visit/events

We went too. It was pretty busy when we got there at 8:50. Below are my rankings on a scale of 1-5. Food: 4 The food was pretty good. The pancakes were very well done, GatorGirl really loved them. The biscuits and gravy were good, I expected the biscuit to be hard from sitting there but it was nice & soft. The eggs were a little plain, I didn't see any salt & pepper to season them up but I probably just missed it. Wait time for food: 3 We got there at about 8:50, and sat down at the table at 9:35... a 45 minute wait in the food line. They had both sides of the LaRosa's location open and when we finally got to the serving area the associates seemed to be efficient, so I don't know why it was taking so long. Hopefully if they do this again they can find a way to get more lines going. One thing we did notice though was one parent would stand in line while the other parent took the kids to see the characters because the line was taking so long and they didn't want to miss seeing the characters, especially after they made the announcement at one point that the character meet & greet would be ending in 20 minutes. But then when the kids and parent rejoined the other already in line, it made the line longer than it originally appeared. So it was a Catch-22... they left the line because it was so long, but it was so long because people were leaving the line and re-joining. Character interaction: 4 The characters were readily available. With the way Festhaus is set up it would be almost impossible to have the characters visit each table like Disney's character breakfasts. But even though we finally sat down at the table 5 minutes after the event was scheduled to end (and even though they had made an annoucnement that he characters would be leaving), the characters stayed out until 10:00 or later and GatorGirl was able to see most of them. Value for the money: 5 Breakfast with eggs, pancakes, sausage, ham, biscuits & gravy, cheesy potato bake and fruit for $6.99? Ummmm... Yes please! Overall rating: 4 Despite the 45 minute wait in the food line, it didn't seem like it was that long to us. Maybe we're just used to occupying ourselves in ride lines that we just did the same in the food line. I wouldn't have really known if I hadn't looked at the time when we got there and decided to time it when I saw the length of the line. But for those with smaller kids, I could see it being a potential problem but I didn't see any meltdowns. It was very nice of them to keep most of the characters out longer than originally scheduled, which made a lot of parents & kids happy. Even though GatorGirl is 9 and past the prime Planet Snoopy age, she still likes to give the characters a hug when she sees them. I'm fine with anything that keeps her childlike as long as possible... they just grow up too fast! We would definitely go again if they were to offer it (we'd just try to get there earlier)!

^I for one am glad the park is helping those Olafs get the warm hugs they so desperately want.

No, Slaughter House was never shut down due to animals. Ah yes, the smell. If one were to have gone to Stunt Crew Grill in April-August previous years, that smell was nowhere to be found, yet somehow it magically reappeared every September. Who knows where that aromatic atrocity will appear next? Not even Sam knows at this time...

^Now that I'd like to see!

^You Really Got Me with that post!

We're planning on being there. It will be interesting to see how it compares to the only other character breakfast we've done, the Supercalifragilistic Breakfast at Grand Floridian. http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/15490-the-gator-familys-wdw-trip/?p=254517