malem

^ My understanding is that most/all rides allow you to either wear or hold water shoes/flip flops/etc. If any don't, there are plenty of places to leave them near the base of the slide. KI's Soak City involves lots of walking on hot and/or rough concrete, so it's helpful to have something on your feet. I visited Soak City three times over the past two years. I'm pretty sure that I left shoes at the bottom of each slide.

That's hard to predict. It will depend highly on the weather, along with numerous other factors. Weekdays in June are typically much less crowded than summer weekends. Rides in the main park generally don't close due to light (or even nonexistent) crowds. See this recent topic for suggestions: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php/topic/29454-hotels/

As of now, Zoombezi Bay (at the Columbus Zoo) is still planning to operate this weekend, in case anyone is desperate to visit an outdoor waterpark early. Highs will be in the 50s Saturday and the 60s Sunday. I've never been there, so I'm actually considering it. They donated 10,000 waterpark tickets, valid this weekend only, to the USO. I wonder how many that will attract.

Not every Saturday of the season has long lines at KI. Unseasonably cool temperatures and a chance of rain might keep crowds away. Or they might not.

We're in Ohio. What is consistent weather?

The Beach waterpark (in Mason) won't be open this weekend, Jonathan. Cool temperatures in the forecast (presumably) caused them to re-schedule their opening.

^ Just get there early when the weather is bad, so that you can walk onto everything before it (likely) shuts down. Very few guests attempt to visit KI's Soak City on cold and/or rainy days.

^ It can also mean that the waterpark closes early, or doesn't open at all. Same thing with rain and other inclement weather.

Can you go into more detail about what you mean? Banshee was the original name for Mantis at Cedar Point. The name was changed before the ride opened, allegedly because of a negative public reaction to using the name of a spirit connected with death. I was wearing a shirt with the logo of Kings Island's Banshee. When the ride operator saw me getting ready to disrespect his ride in the front row, he started using "Banshee" instead of "Mantis" in his spiel. (eg. "Enjoy your ride on Banshee")

The operator at Mantis switched to the ride's original name in his spiel as soon as he saw my Banshee shirt from Kings Island.

Have a fun visit to KI! (By the way, people here can sometimes be humorous or sarcastic in their responses. This doesn't mean that anyone was making fun of you.)

After the ride would be the best time to wash your hands or grab the Purell, anyway. Many people touch the ride restraints, some decide to spit, and a few lose their lunch. Those with personal space issues must have been very uncomfortable outside the front gate on Opening Day, just after they started letting people in.

Yes, I meant to say any public operating day of the current season. KI tickets expire if not used during the season that they were purchased. In past seasons, it has been possible to upgrade (for a fee) an entirely unused ticket to instead be valid for the next season. This ability isn't guaranteed, and information probably wouldn't be available until the next season actually starts.

^ I saw them last season at Kroger stores in both greater Columbus and greater Cincinnati. Meijer stores in greater Columbus carried the combo ticket, but the Meijer in Sandusky instead carried a discounted platinum pass. Your best bet is to call ahead.

Regarding your original concern, readers of this site generally don't seek out people from trip report photos and greet them. Even moreso when people are in a group. That would be slightly creepy. Unless you indicate your interest in meeting up, that is.

You will receive an e-mail with a link to print your tickets. You can open that link from any computer with printing capabilities. Another option would be to purchase it at a local Kroger or Meijer store. This is a good option if you want to avoid the $5.99 processing fee on each online order.

There is no time restriction on this ticket. It's valid any public operating day, once at each park. After you purchase the ticket online, simply print it out and bring it to the entrance gate of the park you want to enter. Save the ticket, as you will use it again at the other park. You may be asked to sign the ticket to confirm your identity for its second use.

^ Next weekend is a bring-a-friend weekend. All passholders can bring 4 friends for $19.99/each, Fri-Sun. Mother's Day and Father's Day are traditionally slow days, which is why there are sometimes promotions on those dates that greatly increase attendance. I would have been there if not for my other plans yesterday.

I wish I could have made it!

^ The servers at the Reds Hall of Fame Grille ask about gold passes, so I assume that there is a discount/benefit there. I do not know the specifics.

I don't think anyone has said that it's wrong to question (or even to speculate about) what's wrong with Drop Tower. (Just avoid posting information that is false.) What gets really old are the comments criticizing people like Don for not volunteering specific information. Kings Island doesn't have to be interactive with this site at all. I sometimes wonder why they continue to do so when they get mostly backlash and criticism from us. Regarding Drop Tower, I imagine that they prefer that the media focus be on Banshee and the rest of the Action Zone attractions that are open already. After all, they just opened the biggest investment in park history. I'm sure that KI wants Drop Tower open just as much as we* do. *excluding Duncan and Lindzey

If Kings Island gave us a "guess", many members would complain if it ended up opening later than that.

There will always be misinformation and irresponsible posts, as this is a public forum, but everyone can help by correcting (and by not spreading) false posts and 'rumors'.

No. My avatar is a picture of Mammoth at Holiday World's water park.

Rides don't close down very often, especially for an entire day. If a ride is stopped due to weather or maintenance, it will re-open as soon as possible. Some people have reported online that ride(s) have been shut down for an entire day even when that's not the case. Make sure to check back later if you find that an attraction is temporarily closed. Predicting crowds isn't easy, but weekdays in June are generally good days to visit. Kings Island has three water rides in the main park, and they're all good (in my opinion at least). My favorite would be White Water Canyon, but be prepared for the possibility that you will get drenched. The others are the Race For Your Life Charlie Brown log flume in Planet Snoopy and Congo Falls in Action Zone. If you want to get really wet, KI's Soak City waterpark is included with admission.