malem

All personal belongings are always subject to inspection upon entering. Many parks inspect every bag, every time. Good security often involves a certain level of unpredictability. Most of the work park security does isn't seen by guests. If you're asked to open your bag or let security "wand" you, just be courteous and helpful. It doesn't take long, and your assistance will speed things up for everyone.

Bumping this, as there will apparently be a tweet-up at Kings Island on Saturday: Via Twitter: https://twitter.com/KingsIslandPR/status/469137446794698752 If you're at the park Saturday, make sure to follow @KingsIslandPR on Twitter and pay attention to the tweet-up instructions when posted. There are usually a limited number of winners, so it's important to be quick! If you win a behind-the-scenes tour, (of course) make sure to follow all instructions. Stay with the group, don't touch things you aren't supposed to touch, etc.

Since Kings Island already has a large investment in the Reds Hall Of Fame Grille, I don't see Chickie's and Pete's opening a sports bar there. (The page that upstop linked mentions limited-menu locations at water parks; perhaps we'll get a quick-service variant.) A wider menu variety, especially with more helpful options, would be especially appreciated when walking around all day in hot weather. Burgers, deep-fried items, burritos, Skyline Chili, and cheese/pepperoni pizza don't always cut it. I hope that the next addition isn't (just) CrabFries and (more) deep-fried chicken. I echo what others have said about a lack of inspiration at the Festhaus. I wouldn't mind keeping pizza at that food counter, but there should be other fresh choices. Get rid of the pre-made chicken fingers, fries, etc; perhaps add soup, a premium salad, vegetables, and meat dish(es) that aren't deep fried. Individual preparation or too much variety wouldn't work well there, however, as the Festhaus attracts a lot of people with a relatively small food service area. Another sit-down restaurant, ideally in the International Restaurant space, would also be much appreciated. The profit margin on food is likely to be much lower than at quick service locations, but a significant subset of customers prefer that dining be an experience. I know that my family made fewer trips to Kings Island after the International Restaurant closed in the late 1990s. Thankfully, the "people gotta eat" mentality is gone. By the way, I'd really like to be able to order more halibut tacos somewhere at Kings Island. Those were excellent.

^ There are no full scale hotels close to the park, making multi-day trips inconvenient for many of those who live far away. Also, anything to make the area more of a year-round destination would be beneficial to seasonal employees in the area.

The longest line today was ~45 minutes for Panda Express around noon. Ride wait times weren't bad at all; major rides varied from ~5 minutes to ~30 minutes after crowds picked up. Everything was short after ~5:00pm. Even if you run into crowds, they should be very manageable this week. If Action Zone is packed at 10:15am, go somewhere else.

The "largest investment ever" could be a multi-year project involving multiple attractions or even a hotel. See Dollywood. Don Koch (previous management) noted in 2012 that this area of the park would be used for the future expansion both of the main park and of Splashin' Safari.

^^^ Attending the race? ^^ There's a chance that I will be there (or at Cedar Point) tomorrow. If not, hopefully Wednesday.

^ But what would a buyer get for the $65k? Sketches? Parts? The name? Rights to access/move/demolish something on Cedar Fair's land in 2014? Does the "owner" pay "storage" fees for keeping his coaster on someone else's property?

I might go to some amusement park this week, date and location to be determined. You might want to return the first week of June, when the park starts to close at 10:00pm, to get those. Make sure to ride Adventure Express at night as well, which is even better after Banshee's lighting package. For future reference, Fridays early in the season are great days to visit.

This is the best part of the article. I still wonder what the "owner" of GL's Big Dipper actually owns in 2014. I can't imagine that it includes a real estate interest in improvements still standing on the site.

^ Even I wouldn't have visited on the 17th. 45°F, clouds, and rain while wearing a swimsuit wouldn't have been very fun. They gave away 10,000 waterpark tickets to the USO to distribute to military families in central and southern Ohio. I expect that many were used for the zoo, since it's included with admission.

That waterpark was almost entirely demolished to dirt. The family playhouse, the only attraction originally left intact, was entirely replaced this year. The old park's lazy river now serves as an adults-only swim-up bar area. The Sea Dragon roller coaster still operates, though it's now considered part of the zoo. The original (and fully restored) carousel also operates, though it has been relocated to a different part of the zoo.

^ ZoomPass was the only "attraction" listed as not operating today. Most guests were using the those queues today, rather than the standard ones, to avoid needless walking. Even though the park was completely dead both days, they got a lot of practice for next weekend - which should be much more crowded. By the way, I asked about yesterday's attendance, when temperatures in the 40°s-lower 50°s under overcast skies. All attractions were open, serving about 20 guests.

Since Jr for Birdy and #Jonathan asked... I visited Zoombezi Bay (the Columbus Zoo's waterpark) for the first time today. You know you've picked a good day to visit a waterpark when the lifeguards are wearing sweatshirts. Fewer than 1000 guests were supposedly admitted today, and attendance seemed to peak at ~100. Some guests appeared to be there just for the people watching. I did everything, including cycles of the lazy river and the wave pool, in under an hour. Air temperatures started around 55°F and slowly climbed into the upper 60°s by the end of the day, though the intense sun made it feel a bit warmer. The water temperature was comfortable (~80°F) everywhere except on the two newest water slides, where it felt like it was ~70°F. People were visibly shivering after existing those, but overall it wasn't too bad. The mix of attractions is decent: 4 WhiteWater West tube slides (including two "bowl" slides like at Great Wolf Lodge), 3 WhiteWater West body slides, a ProSlide Tornado (eg. Mondo Monsoon at Kings Island), a family raft slide, a mat racer slide, a lazy river, a new-for-2014 interactive playhouse structure, an adults-only swim-up bar/lazy river, and miniature versions of the Master Blaster water coaster and "Boomerango" vertical wall slide. Similar slides vary in intensity, so riders can choose whether to take it fast or slow. The only attractions I didn't do multiple times were the body slides. These are more intense than they look, and the transitions between pieces can be painful. Unless you particularly enjoy fast body slides, I'd recommend skipping them. Zoombezi Bay is definitely worth a visit if you're in the area and enjoy waterparks. It does attract very large crowds, so be mindful of weekends and peak summer days. For an extra ~$20 charge, the park offers "ZoomPass" to skip the queues for picking up an innertube at the bottom of the slides. I enjoy waterparks, but I don't tend to frequent them, so I probably won't be back here for awhile. They're a great way to finally say goodbye to winter weather, even if you wake up to frost advisories on the day of your visit.

You can also use the pound symbol when referring to channels (i.e. chat rooms) on an irc (Internet Relay Chat) server. Which is actually where Twitter got inspiration for its microblog tag scheme.

I have never held my hands up on any roller coaster.

^ The zoo uses this as a dry run weekend for the waterpark, so they were going to open no matter what the likely attendance would be. They want to be ready for Memorial Day weekend.

Of all the times I've ridden Banshee, I've only been in row 1 once. It is my favorite place to sit, though.

It's 45°F and raining in Powell, Ohio. The Zoombezi Bay waterpark is currently open.

The trademark is stylized INTAMIN, but the company name is often written Intamin. Either would generally be acceptable. It's not easy for anyone to earn a ban from this forum. People aren't banned for their opinions, even for very unpopular ones.

Summer crowds aren't easy to predict. One day could be dead, and the next day could be packed for seemingly no reason. In general, avoid Father's Day, SpiritSong, and Saturdays. Definitely pay attention to the forecast. Rain, or even a chance of it, can keep crowds away. June weekday crowds, M-R except during SpiritSong, should be manageable regardless. I'd recommend going early in the month if you want the best chance of avoiding heavy crowds.

Dude... You must spend a TON on shoes before each visit. Or do you just buy the cheap Walmart flip flops when they go on clearance each year? Ha ha. That should have read "my shoes" to avoid that reading. I generally left them in inconvenient or hidden locations to reduce the chance of anyone stealing them. I'm not sure how I would buy more if that happened, with my wallet in the car.

That doesn't make her a former member. Inactive, maybe, but not former.

I actually enjoyed Liberty Launch more than the (much, much larger) Power Tower.

On Tuesday, the on-ride photo monitors were turned on and were displaying pictures of empty boats on the drop. CP's water rides don't open until late May.