TombRaiderFTW

Oh! I misunderstood. You're absolutely right. Perhaps that's the thing I'm not taking into account here when expecting how many of these things will sell.

Yeah, it all comes down to how many Prestige passes are sold. If they sell a bunch, and I suspect they will, there's a good chance it'll be how you describe.

I could be wrong, but my gut is telling me that the two hour thing isn't that people get in at 8:00am for 10:00am openings. It's that from 10:00am to 12:00pm, Prestige passholders can use a less crowded exclusive entrance so they don't have to wait in a massive line with everyone else to get in. It would be really funny if it's what you're saying, though.

Chain restaurants make sense to me at major parks... in limited quantity. People are picky eaters. You're going to have more food sales if people see a nationally recognized name they feel secure with, like Subway. You lose some number of food sales to parking lot picnics and the restaurants down the road if some people can't find something familiar. What I'm not a fan of is when half or more of the food offerings are chains. I'd say Kings Island has maybe a few too many chains for my preference. I feel like the CF era has, in a sense, seen the park turn into more of a large Family Entertainment Center for the Cincinnati area than a destination amusement park, so there's where having more local chains makes sense. And I get that KI has a ginormous season pass base, so it makes sense to make the park into a collection of Cincinnati favorites so people will spend their Friday nights somewhere where they can get Tom+Chee AND ride roller coasters--parks nowadays are competing against other forms of entertainment rather than each other. I just wish that having a collection of iconic Cincinnati foods meant that instead of getting a 3-Way at Skyline on International Street, you could get Chef Major's unique take on it from a 1960's-themed stand in Coney Mall, where it both makes more sense thematically and isn't taking up a space that could be used for a return of, say, the Rainbo Bakerei that existed there in 1972 and made sense with the German quadrant of IS, ya know?

EDIT: I misunderstood the perks of the base Prestige pass, as someone kindly pointed out a few posts down. I'm leaving this up for continuity's sake, but don't let me confuse you! Base Prestige passes don't give you access to all CF parks. As someone who has bought a Platinum pass almost every year since 2008... the base Prestige pass is catching my attention. Having Preferred parking included with the pass, especially if that's at every CF park, would absolutely make the upcharge from Platinum pay for itself if I visit as often as I have this year. What wouldn't work for me, and I suspicion that this will be a problem, is that the price point for it is low at $23/month. I don't think that's too distant from the price of a Gold or Platinum pass with other extras (e.g. dining) added in, and I feel like the park currently sells more dining plans currently than its infrastructure and staffing can manage. I expect to see the Preferred lot full regularly and the Fast Lane queues only busier next year. Add in that I haven't made a CP trip this year, and this might actually convince me to just get a Gold pass and visit less. In the worst case scenario, these things selling like hotcakes is going to make me not want to visit as often or even have a pass in 2024. I don't say this to have a meltdown; I'm just sharing some fears that I don't fully trust the park to assuage. Kinda hoping for a limit on the number of these things available for sale...

Oooooh. I like this idea a lot. No matter how much nostalgia I have for the Paramount years, Action Zone's theme and design has always been at odds with the rest of the park. Retheming the area to a new and improved Oktoberfest would be a fantastic step back to the park's roots. Removing Congo Falls and Chicken Shack would open up a ton of real estate that would lend itself nicely to reimagining the area and installing some new flat rides. I'm imagining a lot of parallels to BGW's Oktoberfest area when it comes to retheming the remaining rides, though I'd probably leave Banshee as-is. The Banshee/Bat corner would work great as a spooky church/graveyard sub-area. And, dare I say it, they could actually plant some trees throughout Action Zone.

I, for one, would absolutely purchase my first pin of the collection if they made one of the register of the International Street LaRosa's. Your move, Kings Island.

I'd love for this to work out. I'm not holding my breath that it will, though. FTW, who remembers that year of Thursday Haunts that were announced and (IIRC) cancelled due to weather every single time.

I knew I liked you. Have you been on Mindbender since the refurb? I haven't, but it looks much slower to me, and that makes me afraid for Shockwave's future.

Or The Bat is such a good coaster that it being down is a crime against humanity.

Thanks @malem!

I'm not going to declare that it's inconceivable that the park would get rid of The Bat after this, but I think some posters in this thread should be made aware of Arrow Suspended coasters reopening after worse incidents within the last decade: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-six-flags-roller-coaster-inspection-car-derails-20140708-story.html

EDIT: Nevermind.

Seconded! Can't wait to read more!

Is that part of Diamondback's queue that's been changed into that seating area?

K, and that poster will be sold at the park, yes? Please?

Not doubting you, but I guess I didn't realize it was all that. I remember the celebrity display and the live animals in Slaughterhouse disappearing before opening weekend, but KIC wasn't a part of either happening, if I remember correctly.

I'm so curious about what kind of show it's gonna be. Gonna go ahead and be That Guy™: do you think it'll be another Haut-Vol production?

They're opening it at the closing ceremony. It'll be so awesome, it'll melt your face off!

I, for one, would be delighted if Beast was turned into a CCI during this renovation. Just to play it safe, though, I'm probably not gonna hold my breath on that one.

Can I, pretty pretty please with a cherry on top, make a special request to said admin team to film the rededication, if there were not already plans to do so? Completely unrelated, you're looking very dapper today, and also, [insert other schmoozings to help make that happen.]

You're not alone on that. Here's the thing: The person at the queue entrance can glance at the queue at that moment and semi-accurately guess what the wait will be. That's the exact same process for what happens for the app wait times; it's just done hourly instead of on demand. To get more accurate than that, they'd either need to call EVERY ride more frequently or install a digital system of some sort, which is going to cost money. This is coming from the chain whose front-of-line system is a wristband instead of the more intricate (some would argue more fair) digital systems out there. Cedar Fair doesn't seem to be super into putting more cost into overhead than is absolutely necessary.

I think they repainted the concrete. Which is weird, because the original didn't look that bad, but I ain't complaining.

SHUT UP. This is amazing. There was part of me that wondered if the park would revive the Celebration show, but honestly this is just as good for me.

So uh, my pipe dreams are coming true. One of my favorite things is when parks have unique food offerings. I love the idea of Sweet Spot but haven't been over the moon with it because of how much of it is not made in-house. Yes please! This year is going to be AMAZING.