malem

I'm considering heading up there this Friday evening (tomorrow) or Sunday. As I understand it, the mazes are open on Sunday, but outdoor scare zones are not. (I've never been to HalloWeekends.) EDIT: According to the HalloWeekends website, mazes open at 8pm on Friday ('til midnight), 5pm on Saturday ('til midnight), and 3pm on Sunday ('til 8pm).

I don't doubt that a sufficiently motivated crew could rush guests on/off the ride and hit interval. Management might not like your tactics, though. Remember: The walk from your seat to the bin is much longer on Diamondback. Diamondback guests often don't pull down their own restraint. Diamondback guests sometimes aren't ready to have their restraint pushed down, when a ride op is standing there ready to check it. Some Diamondback guests attempt to ride with loose articles or without shoes. Ride ops must figure out whether someone will be sitting in an empty seat before locking it down. Guest behavior and far-apart (even row) seats make this take longer. Diamondback's exit platform is huge, so people tend to congregate there. Corkscrew guests are asked to apply and check their own restraints.

^ No. (The coffee pots at Donut Time have Starbucks brand coffee in them, if that's all you're after.)

From the official website:

This topic is about Banshee's trains. There are 18 (now 19) posts on this page. Of these, only Brad's 1 post is even remotely related to the topic.

^^^ Diamondback is one of the most popular rides in its park. Guests routinely carry way too much, make their way to/from the bins at a snail's pace, and hang around on the platform after exiting. DB's station is also much larger, and there are 4 additional rows. (vs. Corkscrew)

KI is in a major metropolitan area with a sufficiently large labor force, so local staffing is probably much cheaper. Also, KI's staffing needs are more sporadic than CP's, making an on-site staff less ideal. If minors can operate motor vehicles on public roads, I don't see why they shouldn't be able to operate amusement rides with appropriate training and supervision.

Viking Fury? KI&MV RR? Shake Rattle & Roll (Troika)?

Keeping track of the history of this discussion: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/69-what-if-you-owned-kings-island/ http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/1598-if-you-were-boss/ http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/1877-what-if-you-were-kingqueen-of-pki-for-a-week/ http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/7280-if-we-owned-the-park/ http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/8078-if-you-were-cedar-fair-what-would-you-do/ http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/23581-if-you-owned-cf-how-would-you-operate-it/ http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/25981-what-would-you-do/ http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/28021-if-you-owned-kings-island/

^ If any in your group are college or high school students, make sure they have their student IDs. Assuming that you have a season pass and haven't used your FunPerks bring-a-friend coupon, you could use that to get up to 4 people in for $19.99 each.

I believe that Haunt coupons were offered in years past at Taco Bell locations in Cincinnati. Discounts were also available with a college student ID at the front gate. I have no idea whether either promotion is happening this season.

Yes. You'll purchase a printed ticket at an admissions window that can be redeemed for a 2014 gold pass. If it's like previous years, you can use this ticket for your one free 2013 admission, without processing it first. Of course, make sure that you do not lose that ticket before you get it processed. If the season pass center is open, you might want to process it right away. No, there are no fees for using an actual employee's time at the park. This only applies after Haunt starts. Signs last year indicated that (Saturday) re-entry was forbidden after 7:00pm. You'll want to check the cut-off time when you enter.

NWS is forecasting the thunderstorm event to be mainly between 5pm and midnight, perfect for soaking Haunt. On the bright side, it will be very warm, and the park should be dead. I'm actually tempted to come for night rides in the rain, but I don't want to drive 1.75hrs for most of the park to be closed for lightning when park hours are already limited. Hope you're practicing that scream!

The pitch of one's scream isn't directly relevant to winning this contest. It seems that the winner of each "round" is the contestant with the highest (peak) decibel reading, not the one with the loudest perceived scream. Practicing with a meter, or even a meter app, is likely to help one scream at maximum intensity. Read the official rules. It says that you and a guest would get round-trip airfare, a 4-night hotel stay, and a single day admission ticket to KBF. You'd also get $1,000 cash to help with taxes and incidental costs. No one would force you through the turnstiles at Knott's. If you decide to participate, please do post the date and time you'll be competing.

^ The "fourth biggest" remark was never clarified, as far as I saw. Cedar Point claims to be the "biggest" by the number of rides and by the park's total ride capacity. Kings Island claims to be the "largest amusement & waterpark in the midwest", presumably based on the quantity of improved acreage. I remember that park attendance breakdown now, from the 2012 "FUN Forward" presentation to investors. Cedar Point, Knott's Berry Farm, Canada's Wonderland, and Kings Island are indeed in the ~3.0M+ category. http://cf.wddnsweb2.wddonline.net/_upload/pressreleases/final%20funforward%20presentation%20-%20with%20ebitda%20reconciliation.pdf

KI created a mobile Haunt website and tweeted the location. The map is included on that site: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/mobile/haunt/ Luckily this is a mobile theme of the actual Haunt website, rather than a branded Accesso site with limited content.

From the second article Leland Wykoff linked in post #61: Unlike most parks, Carowinds has been given a very aggressive, quantifiable attendance goal. Since the coaster project apparently accounts for the majority of the investment, it needs to be something that will attract many new guests. Going over 300ft worked well enough for that purpose in Canada. As for keeping details secret, tax incentives weren't requested for the construction of Banshee. Keeping a project under wraps is a lot harder when public money is involved. Interestingly, the Carowinds attendance figure was released by the city, even though Cedar Fair generally doesn't disclose these. If Carowinds will become the 4th "biggest" park with 2.5M attendance, the TEA attendance estimations for Cedar Fair parks may be overstated.

^ Diamondback could be improved by simply treating the water in its splashdown pool. Getting hit with that water on the ride or on the midway is disgusting. It probably contributes to the "worn" look of the trains as well - see the black splotches on the seats, especially towards the back.

Kings Island doesn't need a specific type of ride just because other parks owned by Cedar Fair have one. Since Carowinds wants to increase attendance by 30%, going "big" on their coaster project was probably a high priority.

The 2013 Haunt map has been released:

^ That would seem to be the case, now that the screaming contest has been announced. Perhaps I spoke too soon about being happy with anything but a musical revue. Hopefully the screamers aren't mic'ed.

Kings Island will be holding competitions every Friday night during Haunt to find the loudest Banshee scream. Banshee Media Day passes will be awarded each night, and one finalist will win an off-season trip for two to Knott's Berry Farm. I'm certainly not going to get up on stage in Action Zone and scream like a Banshee, but good luck to anyone who does this. (Hopefully we'll see some KICentral winners!) Competitors will be judged with a decibel meter, so I'd recommend practicing with one of the many Android/iOS apps that approximate one. Info: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/what-s-new/scream-like-a-Banshee Rules: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/images/uploads/file/Kings Island_Banshee COMPETITION.pdf A warning to those who become finalists:

I don't see off-season entertainment coupons justifying the $8-9/month this might end up costing, even for those in the Tri-state area. As for perks during the off-season, I'd much prefer "exclusive" coupons and newsletters. Keep "members" engaged and excited for the upcoming season! After all, that's the real benefit of a pass/membership/whatever-you-call-it - not token giveaways of popcorn during the winter. Besides, those that would cancel over the off-season would see their monthly rate go up upon rejoining, and they might lose multi-season loyalty discounts. If I were designing the program, I might include a X% food/merch discount that grows to Y% after Z months of continuous membership.

The link is a video of a stage with theatrical rigging set up in front of the Banshee construction fence. Maybe the stage for blood drums?! Blood Drums has moved to the International Street bandstand, so the stage is not for that. As long as it's not another musical revue, I'll be happy. No show has been announced for Action Zone, so this remains a mystery. Will a characterization of the Banshee scream and dance for the crowd? Maybe a DJ will host a "monster" dance party? Or perhaps it's for O'Suhr's stand-up routine, celebrating his rise from the grave.

From @KingsIslandPR via Twitter: The link is a video of a stage with theatrical rigging set up in front of the Banshee construction fence.