malem

Yes, they would, if the family spent less at Disney's Kings Island during the year than they would have spent on their WDW vacation. The average WDW guest pays a lot more per day than the average Kings Island guest, and most guests don't spend even 7 days at regional amusement parks. Consider that a DIS vacation for a family of 4 costs ~$2000 plus gas/airfare and food, and KI season passes for 4 is <$350 (2 adults + 2 children, or 4 adults in the fall). They're exploring vacations beyond the typical theme park vacation, of which Disney's America would presumably be a part of. See their new resort in Hawaii, their expanding cruise ship business, and their new Adventures by Disney vacations. Their vacation revenue now exceeds their film studio revenue, in fact. So, I personally doubt they're interested in entering an industry that tries to get people to stay within ~100 miles of home. I'd love to be proved wrong, though. And have the park now be named "Kings Island's Wildwater Kingdom"? (Joking!)

If Disney characters were available at the local amusement park, would as many families pay thousands of dollars for a Disney vacation? I'm pretty sure that having these exclusively is a huge draw for children. Consider that Disney Parks has an annual revenue of about six times FUN and SIX combined. Sure, they could operate the park with different IP not used in Disney Parks if they really wanted to; DIS owns enough. Even so, they probably don't want to enter an industry that competes for the same entertainment dollar as its cash cow Disney Parks. They don't want to encourage people to trade down from vacations to regional theme park visit(s). Besides, after the epic failure of the regional DisneyQuest, another experiment in regional entertainment seems highly unlikely.

And the parents might feel more goodwill towards the park from these special $1 deals, making them more likely to splurge on a hot dog and ice cream next time. Or, at the very least, make them feel better about splurging next time. See this interesting blog post from a consulting firm that apparently studied Holiday World's "free soft drinks" pricing model: http://service360partners.com/uncategorized/service-means-leaving-money-on-the-table/

The lifeguard at the top of Mammoth's lift hill at Splashin' Safari pretended to be asleep, slouched over with his head leaning back. Each time a boat got to the top, he would wink to indicate that he wasn't really asleep on the job.

As sad as it is for someone to be taken too soon, it's especially hard to see children lose a parent. Like several others posting here, my only connection to him was as a casual reader of this site over the years. Seeing the replies to this topic makes it clear he was a caring person loved by all who knew him. A tragic reminder to cherish the time you have with your loved ones, as there's never a guarantee that there will be more. My prayers and deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends.

But lots of people pay at least 10 times that to sit and watch others turn left for 4 hours.

From the mid 1990s until the 2005 season, White Water Canyon let guests pay to shoot water cannons identical to those controlled by the operators in the towers. They took more practice than the current colored geysers, but there was a lot more soaking potential. The same guideline still holds true: never beg a tower operator or geyser-manning guest to stay dry on this ride, unless you want to be completely and utterly drenched. (Or unless someone else in your boat really wants to stay dry, and you're feeling mean.) By the way, is only one tower operating now? I only saw one operate on my only ride on WWC this season, so I can't say with any certainty.

403'd http://www.worldsoff...new/new-in-2013 has the logo and the announcement. Interestingly, they're going to a single ticket for both the dry and wet parks. This will certainly make admission simpler for guests, but I hope the waterpark expansion is big enough to handle the crowds generated by this model. The website probably prohibits third party image links, so anyone who clicks to the image from here is instantly 403'd until they refer from the correct site.

According to a tweet by KingsIslandPR, as long as you renew your pass in advance, you're still eligible for the giveaways this weekend. 2013 pass sales and renewals are now officially available online, subject to the $5 processing fee as always. Interestingly, the $164 Platinum price price is $1/foot of Gatekeeper's drop height, so I guess we should all be glad they didn't get a giga this year. It's also interesting that this is the same per-year price as a 2-year Platinum pass to all SeaWorld parks (SeaWorld, both Busch Gardens, Aquatica). I was hoping they would do a renewal promotion to reward those who buy platinum passes in years when Cedar Point doesn't introduce a new roller coaster. SeaWorld offers significant renewal perks, 2-year pricing discounts, and 12 monthly payments to entice customers back every year. I was hoping we'd see some of this with Cedar Fair's Accesso storefront, but I guess I had my hopes too high. I suppose we still have yet to see what Cedar Point's 2013 platinum pass sales pitch will be and what perks they'll have for new/renewing passes, so we could still be surprised. It does seem really odd to tie the price to a really big number that guests experience when inside the park. You don't want families thinking about the $164/each they spent last year when considering what to buy in the park. EDIT: The page on KI's website now has a note at the end, so I suppose the tweeted information wasn't complete: If you're there this weekend and have already renewed, listen for your name to be read over the PA system, I suppose.

I could see it coming into AZ with a re-vamp..but we'll have to wait and see I guess. In my opinion, any night-ending show at Kings Island should somehow make use of the Royal Fountains and IS.

As I was reminded when visiting KI last week, with everything but Backlot a walk-on, there is an upper limit when riding thrill rides stops being FUN. Since I couldn't find a prior poll about tolerance of quantities of coaster rides, I thought I'd start one. So, how many times can you ride roller coaster(s) in a day before becoming uncomfortable in any way? When riding a combination of rides at KI or CP, including a mini-marathon on Diamondback or Millennium Force, my "limit" when I feel I've ridden enough is just below 30. Too many times in a row on one ride can also cause various forms of discomfort. Cumulative rides (one day): ~28 Marathon limits (KI): Diamondback: 6 Beast: >4 (Never tried more than 4) Racer: >4 Vortex: 0 Flight of Fear: 1 Firehawk: >2 Invertigo: >1 Flight Deck: >2 Adventure Express: 2 Marathon limits (elsewhere): Millennium Force, CP: >9 Mantis, CP: 0 Maverick, CP: 4 Magnum, CP: 6 Raptor, CP: 3 Voyage, HW: 1 (I think I picked bad seats) Raven, HW: >3 Legend, HW: >3 EDIT: Note that these limits are until riding stops being comfortable. Since I generally don't ride beyond that, I can't say with any certainty how many I could handle before I absolutely had to stop. Though I know many people here have braved very large numbers of consecutive rides, I'm curious as to when it stops being "fun" - or when you start feeling worse for the wear after riding. (Even though you may want to continue riding well beyond such a limit, as any discomfort is completely worth it to you)

In most markets, regional parks don't directly compete with each other - so Cedar Fair can't "lose" many customers to Six Flags. Losing customers to other forms of entertainment and to vacations further from home is probably a bigger worry. Very few people in any of Cedar Fair's markets care what a Six Flags park in Texas is adding. Things can get interesting, though, when markets do overlap. Note that Cedar Point and SF Great America are, essentially, getting versions of each other's 2012 additions for 2013. I can't imagine that Cedar Fair's trademark lawyers are amused about "IgNIGHT" competing with "Luminosity: Ignite the Night".

If it is rolled out to more parks, as seems likely, I would imagine that perks and levels will be separate for each park. (i.e. a visit to Cedar Point probably isn't going to help you level up at Kings Island) Each park has its own prices, potential "perks", guest spending habits, season pass visit frequency, etc.

I'm sure quite a few will be going that night. Some will even be there scaring people that night. I'll probably end up coming once, either on opening night, or either September 28 or 29. If any of these days end up being a KIC Day, I'll probably try to attend that.

Don confirmed in the Gold Passes thread that FUN Perks is a benefit for next year: http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/25686-gold-passes/page__st__30#entry482730

If you want something relatively small that takes you upside down, a flat would seem more appropriate. A modern Corkscrew would be balked at by fans of big coasters and would be too scary for a kids/family ride.

Worlds of Fun and Valleyfair now have their 2013 season pass prices up. The early bird pricing on 2013 Platinum passes is $164, an increase of $14 from last year. Considering that platinum pricing is driven by Cedar Point, and they'll have Gatekeeper, this increase seems expected. They're also making use of their installment system (with 6 installments) this fall, which could help them market higher prices. Valleyfair's gold passes have actually dropped $5 this year, to $65 each. Worlds of Fun's gold passes seem to have been raised $10, to $90 each

Cedar Point has been selling tickets that include unlimited soft drinks for only a couple dollars more than a regular ticket recently, so I presume that they have many more drink wristbands than normal. This might make them a bit looser with the inventoried cups than they're supposed to be. Each time I was there this season, I got small cups with water identical to KI's.

The Beast (and pretty much everything in the park with a halfway decent capacity) was a walk-on all day today. If you didn't get your rides in by 7:20pm, you really had no excuse. Rides go down for maintenance.

Since two people have confirmed that their FunPerks level status didn't change after making a Fast Lane purchase, it seems that the system doesn't use this for leveling up. It has been my understanding that this is intentional, but the current text on the FAQ makes this seem like an error. Perhaps Fast Lane tickets qualify for instant rewards but don't contribute to advancing through a level? It's possible that there is a misunderstanding between the people who set the FunPerks policies and those who program them into the system. I would suggest using the feedback form again to send a message seeking clarification on whether Fast Lane ticket purchases contribute to FunPerks levels. Make sure to include a phone number, and thank anyone who gets back with you. Remember, they're not trying to rip you off on your rewards. They're just supporting a new rewards system that's clearly still being developed. If Fast Lane isn't supposed to qualify as purchases for leveling up, ask if they can update the FAQ to avoid this confusion. If they are supposed to qualify, ask if they can fix your account credits. If they don't get back to you within a few days, you might want to send another feedback message asking them not to forget about your question. My original question didn't get a response, but my followup question got a prompt phone call from a park employee who could (and did) fix the problem as I was on the phone. P.S. Now I'm really curious as to whether these should qualify. Let us know if you get an answer.

Fast Lane passes are definitely considered tickets, not merchandise.

I had a Funperks issue about a missing food purchase, and someone from the park was nice enough to call me on the phone to resolve it. Leaving a comment on the feedback link from funperks.com is the best way to get in touch with someone who works with Funperks. They apparently have an efficient system for reaching people with account problems, and using the official feedback feature starts that process. Ticket purchases, including FL, don't count towards Funperks spending. I recall seeing this mentioned several times, on the official FAQ and by Don in posts here. They may have counted early in the season, but if so, it has been "fixed" now. So, if the only problem is that your $270 FL purchase is missing, everything seems to be "correct" now. If you still think something is wrong with your account, definitely use that feedback link.

I was thinking they had changed, per my comment in the KICdayHaunt thread. Perhaps the additional hour on Fridays is to (almost) make up for the lost hours on the first Saturday. Employees (and season pass holders) wouldn't appreciate a sudden reduction in the number of public operating hours.

Pilgrim's Plunge did seem much less thrilling than STR at CP (even less than RFYLCB at KI) - probably a combination of the restraint and a seemingly sluggish drop. It's a decent ride, but it really is anticlimactic when you know you're riding the world's tallest flume. You really don't get wet at all unless you sit in the front, so the connection to Splashin' Safari is indeed odd. While this is a negative to enthusiasts, I suspect that many families and small children would appreciate the less intense drop. Keep in mind that just being up that high is a thrill to many, though probably not to those who hang around on these forums. Many people find even WindSeeker terrifying. I didn't get to ride Wildebeest, but I heard from others on Mammoth that it doesn't get you near as wet. On Mammoth, you're sitting down into a raft already filled with water, so your suit and feet are submerged from the get-go. While riding, you often can't see where you're going because you're facing backwards, taking huge waves in your face, or both. It can be hard to truly appreciate Mammoth's hills when you can't see them, which is why you should ride it multiple times. If you're a group of 2, you can use the single rider line on Mammoth (and presumably Wildebeest) to cut your wait substantially. You'll end up riding with just strangers on most cycles, but you will end up together on many. (They seat groups of 2 in the single line together if possible.) If you want to marathon it, pick a cool morning like we did and brave the cold. There were many shrieks at the first wave of <80° water and much visible shivering after the ride ended. Everyone seemed to think it was completely worth it afterwards, of course. If you go, the Voyage gift shop has most t-shirts marked down to $8, so definitely pick one up. On the topic of savings, the Carrollton, KY Kroger (on the way to HW) has 1-day KI tickets for $25.99. Since Wildebeest was closed and I only tried 2 seats on Voyage, I'm already thinking about a return trip - perhaps getting a coaster club membership for next year's HoliWood Nights. I know some people from KIC met up there this year, so perhaps this will happen again.

I was also at Holiday World on Monday - my first time as well. I too was amazed at how clean the park was. Despite the very light crowds, staff with cleaning supplies roamed the park all day looking for (and usually not finding) things to clean. I saw one carefully cleaning a few drips of sunscreen off of one of the walkways in Splashin' Safari. After finding Voyage closed, I asked the gift shop attendants which coaster would open first, and they informed me that maintenance usually starts at the front of the park. So, I walked through the rain to Raven and found it "operating" - in the rain - with 0 riders. I was the 1st (and 2nd, and 3rd) rider of the day, and I got every bit as soaked as I would on Mammoth. Raven was the most comfortable ride of the day, in my opinion. Voyage and Legend were great, but the roughness kept me from doing these more than twice. Since Voyage wasn't rough for you, perhaps I just sat in bad seats? After riding Raven and Voyage a few times, next up was Splashin' Safari to try out the water coasters. I was disappointed that Wildebeest stayed closed the entire day, but I guess this leaves something "new" for me to experience on a return visit! According to the ride operators on Mammoth, it was closed because they found discoloration in the water that morning and had to drain the entire attraction. Filling it back up takes quite some time, apparently. Mammoth was great, and I got at least 9 laps in. The wait on this was reasonably short early in the day, considering that the temperature was in the 70s. The water certainly was cold, and you get absolutely drenched with waterfalls and waves crashing over your head. If you ride this, hold on tight, lean back, and don't let go for any reason. (This really is important. On my first time through, someone apparently wasn't holding on and I got hit in the face.) If you don't like your ears filling up with water, earplugs would be good to wear as well. It would have been nice to meet someone from KIC there, if I had known. You should have been marathoning Raven in the rain instead of Gobbler Getaway! Anyway, thanks for the nice TR.