malem

For primary grades, school group tickets were inclusive of Dinosaurs Alive admission. Providing educational experiences is important for attracting school groups in the spring. DA likely became less of a draw for schools as the exhibit aged and the park developed additional educational programming.

I use mine on that final fall Sunday every year. While there may have been exceptions throughout the day, the Fast Lane queues did save time that year versus the standby lines. Granted, the park was pretty crowded, and the Fast Lane lines were certainly not walk-ons. The only Closing Day they were completely useless was 2014, when the renewal perks were new. The group I was with split into both queues that year to "race" each other to the front.

Ronny posted a write-up on Cincinnati's Olympic bid back in 2012; see https://kicentral.com/forums/index.php?/topic/26137-the-olympics-couldve-been-in-cincinnati/. Let's continue the conversation there.

^ That agreement is exactly why I have chosen a season pass each year instead of a membership. Much of the contract is not enforced, but they do use a collection agency when payments lapse for more than the two months. In that case, you would owe the remainder of your payments for the 12 months plus a collection fee. You'd also lose your "security deposit" (~$20) and have your pass cancelled. I don't know whether negative reports are made to credit bureaus in that case. Six Flags doesn't have your SSN, but a collection agency doesn't need one to add information to one's credit report.

It was not removed; it's still available at https://kicentral.com/photos/ and http://kicentral.com/history/photos/ Most of the photos are included elsewhere on the site as well, so the gallery (in all its 2003 PHP glory) is no longer linked in the menu.

At least at Six Flags Magic Mountain, regular guests couldn't enter until 10:30am. The perk was valuable since we were in the park at rope drop; others had to wait significantly longer to get through the turnstiles when they finally opened for non-Gold Plus guests. This may be a change in procedure, as turnstiles (at least at SFGAm and SFGAd) opened for all guests prior to park opening. I'm interested to see what the upgrade offer is for existing members and passholders. As someone without any close Six Flags parks, I really hope it won't require processing at my "home" park.

Can we have them back until they're ready to install them again at Carowinds?

^^ Currently, a Gold Plus membership over the minimum 12-month term costs less than a 2018 gold pass that expires on December 31, 2018. A membership can be particularly cost effective if you purchase it before your first visit of the season, then let it continue beyond the minimum term until the end of the following season. If you visit April-October, you're effectively buying 2 seasons of admission for the price of 1.5 seasons. My only beef with the model is that you're signing a financing agreement to begin a membership, potentially involving debt collection agencies if a guest is in arrears on their membership account. There are also financial penalties if a credit card expires and isn't updated before a grace period runs out. All things being equal, I prefer the simplicity of a single lump-sum payment.

The Gold Plus membership seems to be standard at all Six Flags parks now; SFMM had quietly implemented the new memberships when I was there last month. Blake bought one (not having a 2018 pass yet), so he qualified to get in early. Andy & I already had our passes, but we ended up getting the perk because they weren't able to tell what level our SFGAm and SFOG passes were at. Previously, most pass and membership perks were limited to one's home Six Flags park. I like that benefits are being offered at all parks, though I'm not a fan of the complicated ongoing contract that Six Flags memberships require, so I'm not sure whether I'll upgrade. Memberships are convenient in that they continue without having to be renewed and processed in-person each fall for the Gold upgrade. With Cedar Fair parks already offering season pass payment plans and automatic renewal, I wouldn't be entirely surprised to see at least some parks jump on the monthly membership bandwagon. Predictable revenue every month of the year is an attractive proposition.

^ @Princess Sparkles would approve.

See the spoiler alert under Gannersdaddy's picture. It's a joke.

The new food choices last year were so good, as a fan of barbecue, I'd be very happy just eating those again. I'd love to see vegetables or roasted chicken quarters as options, as some Cedar Fair parks have. When walking around all day, sometimes you want a more healthful choice.

^ Some Six Flags parks did use the Thomas the Tank Engine theme; it was part of their IP overload last decade. They ended up getting rid of most of it except for Looney Tunes (& other Time Warner properties). Kennywood traditionally hasn't used much licensed IP, but I think Thomas will fit in nicely if they do it right. They just need to get rid of Garfield.

Regarding older passes in the online store, the longer 20-digit numeric code from your pass card should work in the online store. Be sure that you're entering it correctly. Note that if you renewed with Buy Now Pay Later, your pass might not be active for 2018 yet.

They used to operate the KI Marketplace online store, though it has been offline for several years now. KI merchandise is generally only sold at the park. If you have a special circumstance, you might try calling the park to see if they can assist.

We had a great time; I'll post more details later today. I literally just woke up (at ~4am) after falling asleep after work Thursday. I can't remember ever being so exhausted, and I've done some pretty crazy trips.

GhostRider is (once again) scheduled to be open this weekend, which is good especially because Xcelerator is still down.

Many clubs have family membership plans for people living in the same household, which cost less than buying separate memberships for each person.

It's a long event (32 hours!). You do have the people who are always first in line for 8am ERT and last off at midnight ERT (), but not everyone does everything on the itinerary. Dinner (on Saturday) shouldn't be missed. This is by far the more substantial meal and (in prior years) has featured most of the guest speakers. The tours on Saturday (of Beast, Flight of Fear and KI&MVRR) are highly recommended, especially if you haven't been on them at prior events. (And even if you have, you can always learn something new.)

Yes. I've never had frostbite, and I certainly didn't want to get it at KI. I'm not the biggest fan of winter coats, but I do appreciate them (and gloves) when it's bitterly cold like it was on the last day of Winterfest.

It has been said that the admission breakdown between those three groups (passholders, ticketholders, group sales) is roughly even at KI, but of course per-park attendance figures are never released. I would expect the first group to be growing at the expense of the others, given the ever-increasing popularity of season passes.

Regular exists such that only people who buy early get the best deal. Those who wait until peak season to buy their admission have to pay more to get less. Having regular passes on sale now shows how great of a value Gold is in comparison.

The chance to buy a gold pass expires around Memorial Day, as it has for years. The change has been that (gold) passes for the next season have gone on sale earlier, but that offer doesn't include gold status for the current season.

^ Winterfest is absolutely happening this season. Closing Day was dead because the temperature was about 7°F (-5° with the windchill). Rides obviously couldn't run with it that cold, but it was still fun!

Walking through the park on Closing Day of Winterfest almost felt like an off-season tour. Especially Planet Snoopy and the back half of Action Zone.