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Can anyone share their Fright Feast experiences from this year or past years? I'm curious if this is a fun Halloween experience with themed food tables and decorations, scare actors lurking around, etc. Or is it basically just a generic buffet in the picnic area? Also, my friend is vegetarian. Does the park ever offer some extra restricted-diet options upon request (like a veggie dog, burger, etc.) at their buffets, or would he just have to feast on the sides?

I can confirm that I added the 2015 Platinum Dining Plan at Kings Island to my Cedar Point - purchased Platinum Pass without a hitch (And for $99 versus the $120 now). Now if it all works flawlessly opening day is another question... I'll be taking my receipt to be sure.

I agree that the entrance host was doing his job exactly as instructed, and he was a very nice guy. He clearly wanted to let us in, but he stated that he didn't want to lose his job for not following what he was instructed to do. Another thing that everyone should know: The entrance host also claimed some were losing their skeleton keys and only had the punch card, but they couldn't let those guests enter either. You must have both your skeleton key and your punch card to enter Fright Lane. That's interesting to me, because I will admit that the skeleton key was a little heavy on the neck, and I was thinking of taking it off and putting it in my pocket. I could totally see others doing this, and then losing the key out of their pocket. For the record, I created this thread for a few reasons: 1. I wanted to genuinely warn others purchasing Fright Lane that you must keep track of both the punch card and skeleton key to enter, and it's easy to lose one or the other, based on my observations and what the entrance host told me. I used Cedar Point's Fright Lane, and they used a closed loop connection on the card versus KI's metal clamp. With KI's, you can bump the spring-loaded clamp when closing a restraint or such, and then you lose your card. Then the clamp is attached to a slot very near the top of the card with no reinforcement. It will easily fatigue and break. I just picked mine up (by the card) in the car to look at it when making this thread, and the weight of the skeleton key broke my card off. So that's a 75% failure rate in our group of 4 after a night of fatigue on the card. That's a problem on the park, and they can easily correct it. 2. I was curious of others' opinions on how the park handled this. 3. I wanted to present my own opinion on how Kings Island handled this. Which is: While I don't feel the park technically cheated us, I think they made a very poor business decision. This was a tiny blip of a problem, and the way Kings Island handled it could seriously harm their future business. I want this park to succeed and would like to be proud and confident of the way they treat their guests and deal with problems. The way the problem was handled was not necessarily the fault of anyone we dealt with, but somewhere upper management is training their employees embarrassingly wrong with policies that are purely technical. This reminds me of the kid that grew past his junior pass threshold and the park wouldn't let him enter. Some issues will require the use of common sense, and it's a shame that KI doesn't seem to be getting it. Also, it was too near the end of the night to visit Guest Services and come back; Urgent Scare would have been closed. However, I will be contacting Guest Services with this issue so that they are at least aware of what happened.

A few friends and I visited Kings Island for Haunt this past Friday. The lines were not that bad for most of the haunts, but we decided to purchase Fright Lane to ensure we could get through all the haunts with some time to spare for night rides. We all had a great night together, but 1 minor issue (and the way the park handled it) definitely ruined the strongly positive vibe we had all night. When you purchase Fright Lane, you get a very nice collectible skeleton key on a lanyard with a punch card for all 11 haunted houses and 1 extra trip through a house of your choice. The problem is that the Fright Lane punch card can break off fairly easily from the lanyard after hours of fatigue on rides, etc. We fortunately made it through 10 out of 11 of the houses together, but my friend's punch card broke off on Adventure Express. The last Fright Lane house we had to do together was Urgent Scare, so we went there and told the Fright Lane entrance host what had happened. The 3 of us that still had our cards showed that we all had the exact same ones punched together, and this was our last one. My friend that lost his card on Adventure Express showed the entrance host his metal skeleton key, his dated receipt from the Fright Lane purchase, and his matching credit card used to purchase it. The entrance host said he couldn't allow him to enter, but he'd call his supervisor to discuss. They talked for a couple minutes over the phone, and then the supervisor said he was on his way. They had a 5-minute meeting to discuss what to do, and then they called a second supervisor over. After waiting a total of about 15 minutes, the 3 came over to us and said, "Sorry, but you must have your punch card to enter; there's nothing we can do here." The original entrance host apologized and said that they have had other reports of the same exact issue. Of course our extremely positive night suddenly turned to discussion of how poorly that situation was handled. If there is a known issue that's occurring and an honest group of adults that are clearly together with proof of purchase, it's silly to make such a big deal over a $3-4 value, especially when it's costing the park next to nothing. Again, the damage this did to our night and to future business at KI will far exceed the cost of making this situation right. I really feel that Kings Island needs to train / empower their employees to better handle these situations. At this point, it was near the end of the night, and we decided to leave. On the way out, it was discovered that another friend's punch card was nearly broken through and hanging on by a thread. So, please be aware if you're buying Fright Lane, those punch cards can break off unexpectedly even if you're being careful. I'd recommend the park reinforce the lanyard attachment hole and change to a closed loop attachment instead of that clamp, which can open if bumped.

Yes, my receipt will definitely be kept, and I took a picture of it on my phone in case of loss. I bought the dining plans at both KI and CP this year, and at the start of the season, both parks repeatedly told me that I didn't purchase the dining plans. My receipt saved me a few times at each park. Fortunately, the bugs were worked out after a month or so, and the dining plans now work well.

If KI really kept their word (their website states that only passholders that renew by Nov. 2nd get the season pass preview), that'd be such an excellent and exclusive perk. I predict it'll just be a marketing ploy and all passholders will have access, but I guess we'll see.

Again, I was told more inaccurate information by park employees then. So, malem, is this $14.99 discount loaded onto your season pass (as I was given nothing but a receipt with my $279 season pass renewal - she stated they had nothing to hand out)?

For the record, I was at the park on Sunday, so I decided to experiment and renew my CP Platinum Pass for 2015 at Kings Island with the dining pass, even though the official word from the park representative I talked with (over the phone) was that it could NOT be done. It worked without a hitch. I handed her my Platinum Pass (which is 5 years out of date, so it's clearly branded "Cedar Point"), it renewed at the discounted $279 price, and I was told my Fast Lane Plus was loaded onto the card. All I have to do is present my Platinum Pass at the Fast Lane booth on any Sunday, and it'll redeem one free FL+. Then, I asked about the other perks I was supposed to get (Four $14.99 bring-a-friend discounts and an exclusive season pass preview event in 2015). As I was expecting, she confirmed that the season pass preview in 2015 will be for all passholders. Additionally, she stated all passholders could bring friends to the park for $14.99 on Sunday the rest of the season. There were no coupons required for that offer. Again, this was just the word from an employee at the season pass booth, so who knows if her word was accurate. All I know for certain is that I was able to renew my CP Platinum Pass at KI at the $279 renewal pricing. I'm saving the Fast Lane Plus for a future Sunday. So, as I stated earlier in the thread, calling businesses directly often leads to inaccurate answers as well. I was after actual experience from someone that had already done this promotion when creating this thread, and now we have it.

So, since this company still can't figure out how to make their Platinum Passes work interchangeably, can I convert my already-redeemed Cedar Point Platinum Pass back into a Kings Island Platinum Pass without much hassle? It was originally purchased as a Kings Island Platinum Pass years ago. But because my first trip was to Cedar Point, it had to get converted into a Cedar Point Platinum Pass.

This makes little sense to me, but what I was told from a park representative is that since I renewed my CF Platinum Pass at Cedar Point last year, KI's system will not recognize my pass for renewal, so I won't be able to get the free Fast Lane Plus. So technically, whether it's a flaw in their system or not, KI is falsely advertising that current passholders that renew get a Free Fast Lane Plus.

The problem with that is I've been told incorrectly countless times over the years from the official source (not KI, just in general), and then it causes even greater disappointment. It all depends on how informed the employee is working that day, and unfortunately, that often varies greatly. But thank you; I will call the park directly. But, I was hoping for a real experience of someone already having been through this.

I'm assuming the answer is "yes." It'd make sense that a Platinum Pass to Cedar Fair parks could be renewed at any park. I've already scheduled a trip staying Sunday so that I can take advantage of the KI renewal perks, since CP isn't offering any. So, I plan on presenting my Platinum Pass (originally purchased at CP), renewing it without any hassle, getting my free Fast Lane Plus, extra perks, and heading into Kings Island without any problems. Has anyone done this already? I really don't want to let my friends down once we get there, since I told them about this offer. Also, is the Fast Lane Plus a voucher that can be used on any Sunday this season, or do you have to pick the Sunday at the time you renew the pass?

There's no doubt that Banshee helped get some riders to The Bat, but I'm not sure on what level. Gatekeeper didn't seem to bring an influx of riders to Wicked Twister nor did Maverick bring them to Mean Streak. I think people are drawn to something new, which is why Cedar Point might be experimenting with giving one of their coasters a King James makeover. I don't think it takes an all-new attraction to get people excited. I'm sure these forums would be ablaze with excitement if Backlot Stunt Coaster got a new name and an extensive re-theme. I can envision them building on what's there now with Backlot and giving it an earthquake-style makeover with minimal investment. Or they could invest more and focus on beautifying that area, giving it a Maverick-esque canyon-carving theme with willow trees and such.

Giving "Flight Deck" a new name and theme was something I had wanted and suggested directly to the park. I was delighted to see them do exactly that this year, and I thought "The Bat" theme was perfect, along with new bright colors and signage to attract guests after a spin on Banshee. It's a great coaster, and its clone is still popular at Canada's Wonderland. In the last couple seasons as Flight Deck, it was sad to see hardly anyone riding it. I typically visit the park during less busy times of the year, but as Flight Deck, the station was usually completely empty. Having a whole train to yourself had its perks, but I worried for the future of the ride. Since "The Bat" re-theme, I've noticed a steady stream of people walking into the queue, which has been exciting. I've heard reports that the ride had a long line on opening day and has had some decent lines during the busier days this season. On the less busy days I've visited this year, there were actually people filling the trains, and re-rides weren't quite as easy to get. I'd love to hear from the park if "The Bat" experiment was a success. Was it worth the investment? Has its ridership increased? If it was a success, I could definitely see the park (and other Cedar Fair parks) trying to reinvent older rides. Could Backlot Stunt Coaster be next with a new name and theme?

Here's the issue with that cold response. If a child was of junior height for 95% of the season, they only had access to the junior experience during that time. Why should the parent have to pay the upgrade price to an adult for an entire season? At some point, there will be a child that has used their pass all season, and then they're forced to buy the adult upgrade on their last visit of the year. You never want to put your customer at a disadvantage like that. If Kings Island really wants to pinch pennies, then they could prorate the upgrade cost over the time of the season. If there is 30% of the season left, then the parent would be charged 30% of the upgrade price to an adult. However, this would need to be clearly stated when buying a junior pass, and it's still of debatable customer service. The park would make out better financially if they followed the procedure I previously mentioned.

Kings Island's action and response was a total failure here. The bad publicity and customer turnoff from this incident will cause significantly more loss than the difference in a Junior/Adult pass. It should go like this: If the child is larger than the threshold on their first visit of the season, they should be required to upgrade their pass to an adult. If the child was previously scanned in as a junior in the season, and they grow past the threshold in the same season, they should be given a complimentary upgrade to an adult pass for the remainder of the season. This should just be a polite guest services situation, as the number of times it occurs in a season is going to be insignificant to KI's bottom line. If an entrance employee finds a child too large for their junior pass and the parent says "But they've been using the pass all season," the employee should tell the customer to head to guest services, and the park will take care of them. Customers will appreciate KI's willingness to upgrade their pass, and there will be an even better chance that the parent renews in future seasons as a result.

When I purchased the season dining plan, the only agreement I made was that I could get 2 meals per day all season, 2 hours apart. When I redeem those meals, they're my property; I paid for them, and I can do whatever I want with them. Kings Island has no right to police what I do with my purchased meals, and they're not going to.. When I'm in a park and limited to 2 meals in a day, they're typically going to fuel myself. But if I have leftover fries or something, I'll happily share them in a heartbeat and not feel like it's morally wrong or abuse in any way. That's absurd. I'd feel much worse throwing away perfectly good food.

How on Earth did police find your credit cards ditched alongside a highway? That may have been one of the strangest coincidences in the whole story. Even if some random police department found credit cards out in the wild, how would they get in contact with you? Credit card companies typically won't release any personal information. The police would report the card lost or stolen, and then the credit card company would contact you if anything. Are you sure that this random call from police was even legit...did that number trace back to the actual police department?

Sorry, but I-305 at Kings Dominion is absolutely nothing like Diamondback. I'd say I-305 at KD is a very unique coaster actually. Now comparing Diamondback to Leviathan would have made a little more sense...

Why @gahannaman though? He didn't ask any questions that I see in his Twitter. Not sure if it has any relevance, but Millenium Force is 308 feet tall... Edit: I thought MF was 310, but Google came up with 308 and confused me. 310 it is.

I thought that Kings Island moved to 1 hour ERT every day like Cedar Point? Did this never happen, or did they just change back to 30 minutes?

Wouldn't Flight of Fear and Firehawk have been the more logical 2 coasters for FLP? They're the two that tend to have the longest waits in the park that seem to be the most crippled by Fast Lane.

I wonder if Flight Deck's re-rides are counted? I normally stay on 2-4 cycles. Anyone else surprised that Flight Deck delivered almost as many rides as Flight of Fear and more rides than Backlot?

OP, definitely go Friday of the two, but I'd personally skip this weekend altogether if you can go another, unless you're using Fast/Fright Lane, which might help a bit. Columbus Day weekend is notoriously one of the most crowded, if not the most crowded, weekend all season. The parking lot was completely full the Friday and Saturday of Columbus Day weekend last year if I remember correctly.

That video had me thinking....with Don being such a huge Racer fan, having probably ridden it more than any of us, you'd think he'd have some leverage in getting that ride some TLC. Oh well, I'm sure its overhaul has been planned, and it'll look crisp and new within a few years.