malem

Campsites are on sale as of 9:00am this morning, and additional details have been posted. https://www.cedarpoint.com/events/plan-a-visit/events/Coaster-Campout?mobile=0 If you're hoping to be on the grass, buy very soon!

^ 2006. An ambitious "phase II" of the waterpark that turned into just a wave pool.

Thunderbolt was a much cheaper obstacle than those transmission lines would be. I'm not convinced that the waterpark needs to grow in size. Some of the existing waterslides aren't great for capacity, staff utilization, or a modern guest experience.

Waking up on it... using it to catch up on lost sleep... to each his own. Too bad that getting Top Thrill Dragster up and running at 7am would be a tall order.

^ The notion that you get what you pay for often doesn't apply in the hotel industry. In the midwest, I have had great experiences at ~$60 and terrible ones at ~$140. I like to look at online reviews, particularly the bad ones, paying close attention to the reported cleanliness & condition of the rooms. It's a good sign when a property reliably takes care of the small things. Regarding Coaster Campout, it's much more than in-park lodging. Part of Cedar Point is roped off and literally becomes your private campground. Rides open up just for the campers, resulting in some ultra-exclusive ERT. Stay up late chatting with friends & park officials, enjoy complimentary s'mores, or (try to) sleep. Get out of bed for breakfast & a shower, then step onto Millennium Force to finish waking up. Finally, pack up your tent before the park opens, and enjoy another day at the park with whatever energy you have left. It's a really cool event. But as Tony said in the PointBuzz thread, it's not for everyone.

So, who else is on the list, and who (of those) are attending? Anyone up for dinner beforehand in Mason or West Chester? I need to check the timing of a work event, but - as of now - I think I'll be free.

^ Yes, the park does have that information. If you ordered online and want to reprint your receipt, you can do this at https://cf-ki.secure.accesso.com/orderLookup

Each campsite holds up to 4 people. $50/person is very reasonable for all you get, and all the money is going to a very good cause. This event was a lot of fun last year.

It's pretty simple. If you renewed your pass prior to the fall deadline, you'll get in. Otherwise, you won't. If you did that, but your pass doesn't scan (eg. if you upgraded to platinum at another park), you just need to stop by Guest Services for them to verify your on-time renewal.

Be sure to follow Don Helbig (@DonHelbig) on Twitter this season for exclusive updates, Q&A sessions, "Tweet-up" contests at the park, and more. https://twitter.com/DonHelbig Just posted today was this photo of the very nicely repainted Shake, Rattle & Roll ride vehicles: Photo: Don Helbig via Twitter: https://twitter.com/DonHelbig/status/577988695166451712

The original fall deadline was Sunday, November 2, 2014 - the last day of the 2014 season. This was extended until the following Thursday (November 6) for the benefit of people who put off their purchase/renewal until the last minute. Recent content from Kings Island on the website and on social media platforms have referenced the extended November 6 deadline. According to everything that has been released, only renewed passes (that were renewed by the deadline) qualify. The perk for new pass purchases in the fall was one free 2014 visit.

^^ You purchased this "perk" last fall, so ultimately you should be able to use it. If Kings Island says that you are eligible, I'd recommend bringing copies of both your fall renewal receipt and your platinum upgrade receipt in case there are questions at the gate. EDIT: It has been confirmed that qualifying passholders who upgraded to platinum at another park will be able to attend, but they will need to stop at Guest Services to validate their fall purchase.

^ Existing biometric systems used at parks (with systems from Disney, Universal and Accesso) don't produce a unique fingerprint for each guest; they're used to check identity rather than establish it. I don't foresee this as primary identification in the near future, as even the best biometric systems tend to be error-prone.

A park in Indiana might sell you one of those. One in Alabama, too.

I was also tentatively planning to visit that day, as the private event was listed for the following Sunday when the 2015 calendar was originally posted. The operating schedule is subject to change, of course, so it's always a good idea to check!

For those wondering about the preview night, the passholder portal on visitkingsisland.com has been updated with details. For information on all season passholder promotions as they become available, make sure to register on the site with your season pass number: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/passholder/passholder-exclusives.cfm To attend, note that you must have renewed a 2014 pass for the 2015 season by Thursday, November 6. Access to this event was one of the benefits offered for renewing early. Who plans to be there? Since the event is only 5 hours long, do any of the other Columbus-area members want to share a ride that evening?

^ The first link includes Coney Potato Works, which was not on the list last year. (So the food options have been updated, albeit not as recently as those at the second link.)

The Flash-based store has been (mostly) gone since the beginning of the year. Private ticket stores for corporate partners and special events (incl. Coasterstock) still use the Flash platform.

^ Here it is embedded: (KI via Instagram: https://instagram.com/kingsislandpr/p/0G7jN6OOFi/) Seating for the renovated funnel cake shop, perhaps? Though apparent tree removal might suggest something more.

Cedar Point apparently announced at the Winter Chill-Out event that platinum passholders will be able to purchase Fast Lane Plus at the Fast Lane price. I don't expect a similar discount at Kings Island, as season passholders comprise a much larger share of total attendance. As JubJester noted, Fast Lane doesn't work very well when too many people have it.

^ There are several members from the Columbus area, myself included. I'd be open to a carpool if others' schedules would match.

^ I like how that name has become ubiquitous here, but absolutely nowhere else. At least on the public Internet as crawled by Google.

^ It should be in a green box, either in place of the registration form or on top of the (now empty) registration form, after the submission is complete.

^ The site has an on-screen success message after the form is submitted. If your registration didn't go through, you wouldn't see this confirmation screen. If you want to save a confirmation for your records, I would recommend taking a screenshot of that message.

^^ I doubt the pass infrastructure allows the platinum plan to be added at another park. In prior seasons, as I understood it, a passholder's master record lived only at that passholder's home park. A change at another park didn't propagate throughout the chain, except when it did. The Cedar Fair gate admission system was explained to me in 2012, so its capabilities may have improved by now. I was quite surprised when they integrated the existing system (from Paramount Parks) alongside Accesso's online platform. From what I understand, Six Flags is using Accesso's systems across the board (online sales, park POS, turnstiles, Q-bot) with very few issues.