CoastersNSich

Anyone with the money and desire to get the Fast Lane pass can. There are those working middle class folks who travel the distance who've saved up for a one-day vacation to Kings Island who wouldn't mind putting down $50 to essentially "extend" their park trip by simply cutting out waiting on many of the rides. Not any different from someone related to a P&G executive, or someone who plays for the Reds, Bengals, Blue Jackets, who clearly has more spending money laying around. I may never use Fast Lane in the near future, but odds are I'll enjoy some of the "benefits" from the revenue from it. I'm cool with that.

As someone who thinks that the government should do more things, such as better public transportation, and doesn't think everything should be run like a business.... I think what Kings Island and Cedar Fair is doing here is a good idea. Offer guests on a busy day the chance to ride the rides without waiting for a nominal fee, and let them get more out of their day. Lately, I've been critical of capitalism... but as a private business, I think KI is playing by the rules and as a business that provides entertainment, it's giving more options while enhancing revenue, something the company needs to do to pay off debt. Many of us know when to go to the park, and can go when crowds are less busy. And in the case of "being fair," the park only offers the program for 7 hours in the day, so in the mornings and evenings, there's no "paid cutting." Quite frankly, the SRL was a clusterf**k. Many of those who used it were groups, and even though staff would periodically close that line due to length, people would still hop into that line from the main queue thinking their wait was shorter.

Probably not my ONLY thing to change, but hasn't been put out there as much, is to really "open up" the Royal Fountain to International Street. It looks kind of "hidden" by the trees, so I suggest "shifting" the trees towards the buildings, placing the pathway closer to the fountain - somewhat like it originally was from 1972 til the early 80s - and then re-designing the fountain, to have choreographed water/light shows throughout the day.

I've been to a couple Riverbend concerts in the past, and been able to park for free. I don't know if this is still true, but if you've got your concert ticket(s) with you, you could show them to the parking attendant, and they should let you into the lot for free.

I live less than half-hour away, and I've been putting off my mid-week visit til Wednesday... and I might hold off til Thursday or even Friday. I might like low crowds, but it has to be somewhat comfortable. Constant rain and below 50° temps aren't comfortable, especially for May.

I'm quite honestly surprised that Kings Island didn't get this new style of map until this year. This style, which Cedar Fair uses for most of their parks, is quite honestly pretty cool, especially with the distortion of the coaster lift hills and tower rides. I do like the 1998-2010 style maps, which are done by Citigraph, but this is a move I surely saw coming to unify things for synergy through CF.

I hear you... wild attractions hosted but a redneck guy who giggles about pooping in the display toilets at Lowe's.

I'll give Cedar Fair the edge over Paramount in this debate. It seems like there is a clearer focus now, although they're not just focused on thrill rides and coasters. The investment throughout the park has also improved: Firehawk and Diamondback, a good job converting the kids' area to Planet Snoopy, more shows (compared to the later Paramount days), and now the Coney Mall improvements, like WindSeeker. The appearance standards also seem higher on the employees. I will agree with some, though, that operations and staffing under Paramount was more relaxed, laid back, while still maintaining professionalism- that's not to say the Paramount folks were lax on park and ride safety.

While disappointed, I felt that the PTCs that Voyage got are an improvement over older ones, especially the hollow seat divider and the individual car lap bar release mechanisms. It's been a few years since I've ridden it, so whatever trains are running on Voyage, I'm still hungry for some rides!!

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=55643&start=1720#p1013669

If I were them, I think Bud Light's most recent slogan "Here We Go" sounds better. But I guess with the new WindSeeker, "What's Up," may be better fitting.

I think that per the 1979 brochure, there was a $1 charge to ride the monorail. Park admission I think was $9.95 that year. In 1972, besides the park admission being $6, I think a parking fee actually was assessed; it was either 25¢ or 50¢. That, and there was only a north parking entrance, as the Western Row/KI Drive exit to south I-71 did not exist til a little later...

I've also had the feeling that the 'Ride On!' slogan also has limited marketability... does it best say what Cedar Point and other parks has to offer? Yes, it's the primary offering, but "The Fun and Only" is broader.

When (not so much if) the gas prices skyrocket to levels mentioned in the topic title, then we'll see what transportation projects are a waste of money. People have been fast to slam light rail/streetcar projects, yet road building/widening of up to a billion in greater Cincinnati has taken place without any voting or protesting.

Ended with 131. My last ride was at Pride Night, I never made it back down after my move back up to Columbus for school. But I'll try to head back down in April!

Yes, because there's a trial that's going on, and WLWT is doing its best to sweep that under the rug. (of course, I was sarcastic here)

Mentioned earlier on page 8, I think that the music heard in Boomerang Bay in 2009 was a vast improvement compared to some years past. When the water park got its 'down under' retheme, it had one of the shortest audio loops around. I'm all for the same stuff as last year coming back next. I could pass on the kitschy summer/beach music.

It was a wonderful time last night. Meeting many good friends, who are either KIC members or just fans of the park like I am - as well as some of the familiars working there too. I even made new friends with some great people... yes I've been doing that a lot with other KIC members throughout the season, you know who you are - but doing so at Pride Night was pretty special. I definitely recommend going to Pride Night in the future, regardless of your sexual orientation.

I have broken the tie! Whether or not Nick is part of the park's future, Snoopy belongs at Kings Island!

It was not unusual to see ride ops/attendants texting on the phone rather than watching the rides, at the carnival that was at Cincinnati Mall in Forest Park a few weeks ago. This is generally a small part why I don't care for fair/carnival rides - and trust my safety to permanent amusement parks.

I might make this my last KI trip for the season as well. I'd be moving back up to OSU and Columbus for the fall shortly after. If I had to spend some money for a final '09 KI trip, I might as well do it for a good cause and be around decent people. Plus, I'm not too big on Haunt, either.

Heard at the Guitar Hero place next to Adventure Express: Heart - Barracuda Enya - Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) Percy Faith & His Orchestra - Theme from "A Summer Place" a Paramount favorite! Stevie Wonder - "I Just Called To Say I Love You" Dionne Warwick - Do You Know The Way to San Jose Fleetwood Mac - Dreams (unsure)

Having visited KI over the past week, it's hard not coming across a member of the general public who is curious about Son of Beast. They're wondering how to get to it, what it's called (when they see it from another ride or from pathways in the distance) - and I get to hear their disappointment when I tell them that not only is it closed that day, but for the rest of the season, and who knows beyond that? Part of the disappointment is that there's something that the park obviously invested greatly in building, and that the average guest can't enjoy it. Then again, of course, there are the guests who think they would enjoy it, and in finality, some of them don't enjoy it - which explains why said huge wooden structure of great investment is off limits to them.

I should add that I am going, as well as PKIBoy (Adam). I sent in our regristration. I'll also make this post like a "bump" to see who else is going, even though they didn't put their names here previously.