homestar92

Would anyone know and care to share what the crowd levels currently are at the fair? Thinking of heading down to KK, but I don't want to make the drive if it's gonna be crowded.

Kings Island doesn't need to destroy Top Gun. Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer already did that.

Flyers are a 2-3 cycle wait right now.

Looks like the line for Diamondback isn't even out of the station. And I saw a train on the lift on the webcam, so it is definitely operating.

Interesting... A Wednesday during which the park isn't open... Have some Hart, Cedar Fair!

I know that the Muskingum University police were a bona-fide police force, with authority to arrest, issue citations, and all of the other police-like stuff. Of course, they were a complicated matter because despite being a legitimate police force, they still had to answer to University administration. At the risk of saying something political, that was always a caveat that greatly restricted their usefulness. Of course, New Concord police still retained full authority to make arrests, issue citations, and the like on the Muskingum campus, so things had a way of working out. Kings Island police are likely in a similar situation, having the legal powers of a police force, but still answering to the authority of KI/Cedar Fair administration. And in much the same way, there is still Mason Police, who would be unrestricted by park administration. Everything in this post is speculation on my part, lest anything come off as my own knowledge. Basically, just providing an analogy to which I am familiar.

I'm kind of in the same boat as you. I track my count basically for my own information and so that I can rattle it off if someone asks. Most of the time, if someone is asking me how many coasters I've ridden, they don't really care whether I think Racer is one coaster or two (it's one, BTW, whether you're in Mason or in West Mifflin). They're just curious as to how many I've been on. And that usually opens up conversations about my favorite parks and rides, which I could go on and on about for ages. I also usually mention that there are some definite question marks in that count. Like the fact that many people count Thunder Run at Canada's Wonderland as a coaster even though it does no coasting and yet very few will count a Pretzel haunted house despite their working much more like a normal coaster. Those conversations can be a lot of fun. Even if the people who don't count the Pretzel haunted houses as coasters are wrong Plus, I definitely have some obsessive-compulsive tendencies, I couldn't imagine having collected things (or experiences as it were) and not knowing how many I had collected.

If I were to count Gatekeeper as two credits, then one thing is for certain... I'd wish I could count X-Flight as two credits, too. I wish I could love that ride... The layout is awesome. It has the best keyholes of any Wing Coaster I've ridden. It would be my favorite ride of its kind if it received the same modifications that Gatekeeper did.

Gatekeeper caused terrible collarbone pain for me in 2013 and is entirely tolerable now. Can I count that as a new credit?

The pizza in the park is all LaRosa's (ostensibly in name only, as it is nothing like LaRosa's pizza, and in my opinion, is all the better for it. Though it seems they use LaRosa's sauce recipe) except the location in Soak City. The pizza is definitely the same as other locations in the park, but does not bear the LaRosa's name.

I just refer to the slides as "That one over there!" and point in the general direction. It gets the point across. For me, the waterpark is a "once every few years" thing. I like it, but I need a group of people who also want to do it. I won't be a single rider (single slider?) in a waterpark. So, this addition is not really for me. That said, I'm really glad we got it. The waterpark really needed some attention, and it's good to see it finally get a major new attraction (first slide in over a decade, no?)

Question about payment plans, as I've never used one before. I don't like liabilities. If I can avoid it, I prefer to NOT owe people money. If I go for the payment plan, can the pass be paid off early, or must I pay it off according to the schedule? If I'm in a situation where I have the cash on hand to cover the expenses, I'd much rather do that than to have a liability that I don't have to have.

Eh... Glad you like them. I'm not a fan. Fortunately, in Banshee's case, it has so many other elements I love that I can overlook it.

I'm proudly wearing my school colors, as I do every casual Friday. - homestar92, proud to don his black pants and magenta polo whenever he can.

And we also know from Hydra and Banshee that B&M is willing to build annoyingly slow inline twists, so it seems perfect to me...

Park designers can make an entire mountain? That's a Wonder to me.

I have been riding in the back seat of a car, had the driver hand my pass to the attendant, and not seen them even glance toward the seat I was in before waving us through. For that reason, I don't think they get visual confirmation. Or perhaps they do, but the park does not see this as a big enough concern that they want to avoid an automated system because of it.

The text is highlighted in red. Like a herring might be from time to time.

Plot Twist: We're getting a Dive Coaster but the announcement is in Soak City. It's a true DIVErsion.

Unless your announcement is, "Hey, we're removing this thing, but look at the exciting thing that we're building to take its place" Of course, many will still be upset, but such is the nature of ANY change. And that applies to anything in life, really.

Agreed. The last thing you want for your announcement is a case of anticipointment. You don't drum up a buzz for something like upgraded toll booths, which 99.9% of people would not notice a change in nor care if a change occurs. Unless of course, like Carowinds, said booths are just one piece in a large set of overall park improvements.

A debit system for drinks would really not be any different than selling gift cards, which virtually every retail business currently does with no issue. Or FastPay wristbands, which certain parks in the chain already do. Or heck, even Beagle Bucks (does KI still have those?)

Perhaps offer an upcharge version that allows purchasers to have discounted drinks - on par with normal restaurant prices (between $1 and $2). I doubt it would happen though, as the profit margin on soda is ENORMOUS. At the current rate of ~$4 a drinnk, if a dining plan holder gets a soda with their meal, then the park has likely come out ahead on that particular meal even with the dining plan. On the other hand, even at $1, the park would make money on the drinks and would be considerably more likely to get some cashflow from dining plan holders.

I've got it! I know which two it is! I'm willing to bet money that we won't be seeing the Bavarian Beetle or the Skyride operating in 2016.

Darn. And there went the potential sponsorship by Ram pickup trucks. Oh well. Maybe a sponsorship deal can be made with Avenger sedans instead. - Me, who actually drives a Focus. "The Dodge Avenger - the sports car for people who want a sports car, but they also want four doors and comfort and safety and good gas mileage and trunk space and they don't want it to do anything too scary" - homestar92, who might have considered liking the Avenger if not for its comically un-ergonomic steering wheel.