gabelogan99

There are plenty of foods that can be smuggled into the park in your pockets that won't set off the metal detectors. Now, it's not like you can really bring a full course meal in but small snacks are a really good idea especially if you get hungry in those long lines and there is nothing to eat besides small scraps that you find on the ground.

So the red and blue Racer... which one is which? What color is the car that got turned around, the one that used to go backwards?

What are these zipper pockets everyone speaks of? Are they actually on the seat of the ride itself? I don't remember them fromt the first (and last) time I rode Tomb Raider but I will admit that was quite some time ago.

I would guess that if you lost your ticket, which contains a unique identifier, you are out of luck.

The wasps at the top of Drop Zone sound scary! I wouldn't wait to report it, but I'm not sure there's anything they could or would do about it even if you did. I have noticed bees up there. It was weird last year because they said there was a bee shortage. Maybe all the bees just decided to climb a little higher and nobody bothered to look up.

I have explored all options including the ones discussed and recommended here. I think I'll probably go with the Kings Island Inn still because I'm real comfortable with driving around that area and I know exactly where it is. It's pretty much the same prices as all of the others that I looked at. The main thing I was looking for was cheap (Under $60) but didn't find anything like that. But it will also be good because we can all take the shuttle to and from KI. So, yeah, I mean I'm kinda asking for myself too even though it doesn't make much sense for me to be staying in a hotel but I'm going to for a few reasons. And I've never stayed at the KI Inn before, and haven't necessarily heard good things either, but still something to look forward to. However, I will say this: If I have the money in time to make the reservation, I'm going to go with Great Wolf.

Well, I will chime in here since the subject is animals and something I know a little bit about. Especially snakes. Now I will say that I absoultely HATE serpents and I have NEVER seen one at the park. However, I can tell you that all of the snakes mentioned are not entirely far-fetched inhabitants of Southern Ohio. Even rattlers. The most common type of rattler in Ohio, as someone kind of already hinted at, is the Timber Rattlesnake. For those of you who don't know, these are poisonous and potentially deadly and you should run as fast as you can if you ever see one. The distinct rattle on the end of the tail should give a fair warning; they won't chase you if you run because they are afraid of you too. Copperheads are also common. Venemous. Again, run if you see one. These look very different from the black rat snakes which are nonvenemous and completely black. (And can get pretty long in size!) Black snakes are pretty harmless, but should be dealt with when seen. Now even though all of these stories on here are not officially confirmed by any official source, it would not surprise me if they have been spotted. The most common place I would think you would see any snake of any kind would be precisely the location mentioned in the original post: walking back to the park from WWC. Again, this is the most likely place where you would SEE one, not necessarily the most popular place one might actually be. Any area like this one with a water source nearby would be a good place for a snake to set up shop. As for the other stories, I pretty much believe all of them because I know the type of wildlife that live around those parts. Of course, the one I'm having a hard time believing is how a lion could have got all the way from Africa to International Street at Kings Island? (kidding)

That does help a little bit, except for the fact that GWL is mentioned quite a bit, and that's kind of out of my, I mean their, price range. I was happy to hear about the 10% discount for AAA members though. Now I just have to figure out how to get that.

I have some people coming from out of state and they want to come in July after the 4th but before Spirit Song. It will be sometime during the week, probably like the 7th through the 10th, with a full day at KI on the 8th or 9th, whatever day is going to be nicest. I know most of you don't go to hotels around KI because you live there, and it has been about ten years since I stayed in one around KI. But I was just wondering if anybody can recommend any good places? (Edit: Found out some other information from the KI Inn's website that I was originally curious about. That's the hotel that's pretty much on my radar right now.)

Both good guesses. I did get those questions, but not as much as the most frequently asked question. And the Eiffel Tower I actually didn't get as much as I or you might expect. Keep in mind, here I am, right at the end of International Street at the front of the park with the Eiffel Tower right in front of the guest's face. Unless they get distracted by the fountains and fixated on them, the Tower isn't too hard to find from there. I also got this one once: "Where's the NASCAR?"

And let's not forget about the CSI roller coaster episode which was by far more believable than the Final Destination 3 roller coaster incident. (But then again, the part about doing it on a roller coaster isn't that believable...but hey, they mentioned The Beast in that episode and SoB so it that was good.) Back on topic...well I worked there three summers ago now and at the very front of the park where people are just itching to get their questions out and they see the first person who they think can answer. I heard some pretty good ones, but this was the funniest, from a girl about 19 years old: Her: "Do you guys have waffles?" Me: "Waffles?" Her: "Yeah like breakfast waffles? I was just hungry and wanted waffles." (It was in fact in the morning.) Me: "Uhhh...no." I'm going to have a little contest/challenge now: So, I worked up front in Admissions and got the most questions as a ticket taker. What question do you think I got asked the most? (By the way, I'll say right now that I don't think anyone will get this one because it's not something you'll think of. It's not necessarily a stupid question either. But it was, BY FAR, the most frequent question I got.) I'll give hints after a few guesses if nobody gets it right.

Ok then, mystery solved.

I don't know about that, it sounds suspicious...and remember this is coming from a former admissions employee. But, I don't know for sure. If there is a reason that the plan wouldn't work, that's probably not it.

Ok, here is somewhat of a tip but I am not totally sure if it still works this way or not. If you read the wording on the season passes that you print out online, I believe you are entitled to one entry on that printed out pass. After that, you must get your pass processed. So if you're going opening day you MAY be able to just use your printed out pass BUT DON'T LOSE IT! Then, you can get your pass processed on your second trip. Take a look at the printed pass. They used to say right on them that they were good for one entry to the park but after that they would be invalid so you would have to get your pass processed on your second trip. I would consider trying it.

Yeah, Chef and I have been strong supporters of Phantom Theater's comeback for a long time now. It has been a nice treat to see the characters/cars at the previous Halloween fests. I think this year will probably actually be the year that I turn my audio from the ride into a downloadable MP3s and make it available. I still have my recordings, I just need to sit down and try to get everything organized. I'm an A/V person now so I don't think it'll be too terribly difficult. I'll keep everyone up to date on that progress.

Yeah, and when I read the first post in this topic where it said that the path would be longer, I thought to myself "Well, those of us who went to HH last year have already had a taste of what that is like. And it really really sucks."

Ok, thanks Gator. I knew an employee or another former employee might know. I just don't pay attentio to it that much. I know last year we got our tickets right away and sat in section 3, row A (which is front row center) but I really had no idea where AA was. Should I assume 27 rows back in that particular section? Anyways, yeah I feel a little deceived but I don't care too much. I bought tickets for all three days and can probably make my money back by just selling one ticket because I don't really care to go on Thursday. But, of course, there will be a little scarcity once the date approaches. Not expecting it to be any different than any other year.

Tickets for Spirit Song went on sale through Ticketmaster last Saturday. In case none of you know, there was a breakdown in communications and when the tickets went on sale at 10 AM, only season pass holder tickets were available, meaning that if you didn't have a season pass you couldn't buy the tickets. Some people still bought tickets though, and Ticketmaster has promised to upgrade these tickets to include park admission. (For a small fee.) So, basically, I've been to Spirit Song, or at least one day of it, for the past four or five years, including the year I actually worked it. I know for a fact that Section 3, Row A is front row center. But what about section 1 row AA? This is where my seat is this year. It's confusing because there are two setion 1s and my aunt's tickets that she got are in Section 1 row B. Ticketmaster advertised the ticket that I bought as a "Front of the house" ticket, but I'm really suspicious. I believe it will be the first row of the other section 1 (or the one closest to the back.) Still a pretty good seat, but I was just wondering if anyone knew for sure. By the way, I bought mine for $44.99 and it was only a couple of hours ago. I have a season pass so that's what type of ticket I got. I don't know, this ticket stuff interests me since that is my former department. Tickets for concerts, however, are handled entirely by Ticketmaster although you can by Ticketmaster tickets at the Return Visit Booth.

LOL I love having a Trip Report for a grocery store. But, anybody that has ever been to Jungle Jim's before will understand. I need to go back

To be totally honest with you, I wouldn't even bother with picking up the "VIP" jackets. They are crap. They have no pockets, the words "Kings Island" don't appear anywhere on it, and their retail value is actually only about ten bucks at the very most. Once I saw what they looked like, I decided I wouldn't waste any time getting mine.

Well here's the first rumor: the season is NOT over today!!! WXEG in Dayton is reporting that Kings Island is extending Halloween Haunt/Bare Bones through this weekend! I've seen no visual evidence yet that confirms this.

I know I already commented about this, but I feel the need to address it seperately. I really hope it's not true, but it actually makes sense. It's no wonder why the associates don't know anything if they've stopped these meetings. 80% of my job revolved around information I got from these meetings when I worked there in 2005. And I know Kevin from when I worked there. Overall, I thought he was a pretty decent manager although I never worked all that closely with him. I didn't really have any major complaints against his management when I was there, but at the time he wasn't the top manager. I'd hate to place the blame of the current state of the department squarely on his shoulders. I think there's enough blame to go around.

The answer to this is quite simple. No. There is no communication between departments. That's why information posted on here that supposedly came from the PR department about what the admissions department is doing is laughable. I'll say that again...it's laughable. No disrespect to any particular individual, of course. And I'll admit that my previous post in this topic was completely condescending. I didn't feel the need to slam anyone and I still don't. Nobody knows as much about the problem and the solution as I do. Trust me, I'm the most arrogant son of a ***** you will ever meet when it comes to how to solve the problem of my former department, and I'll always be the first to admit that. I know exactly what needs to be done. I know exactly how to fix the problem. But the main thing is that I know exactly what the problem is. There is a total lack of communication... not just between the departments, which by no means is a small problem, but also a lack of communication between managers, supervisors, and associates in Admissions alone. I can tell you that we had meetings every morning when I worked there. For someone to suggest that those meetings have stopped? That's one hell of an accusation. But it would be far worse, and it would look extremely bad for the department, if it was true. The right hand has no idea what the left hand is doing. And it's creating a lot of headache. But Cedar Fair might not see this as a big problem. People are ****ed off? Who cares. Is it really losing us THAT much money? And to be honest with you, I could kind of see their point. Why fix it if it's not broken? Why do anything about it if it's not losing us money? Just because a business doesn't run smoothly doesn't mean a business can't prosper. But eventually it all comes full circle and you're left with the mess that is the Admissions department. I would say that I don't think it could get any worse. Oh, but it can. Yes, I have been employed by Kings Island. But the checks always came from Paramount, not Cedar Fair. I have no loyalties whatsoever anymore. I find it really interesting that THIS is what Cedar Fair has done in its first year to a department that needed a little work before, but now needs a complete overhaul. May God have mercy on whatever soul is in charge of bringing some stability to it. But you know in a way... I would have no problem if that soul happened to be myself. I've already established that I'm a little arrogant about it. But I can gurantee that it's arrogance born out of passion. I understand how things work there. I understand their computer system that they use (and technically, that is my college major.) I would challenge anyone claiming to have a bigger passion for change to the department than I do. The problem is, I don't know if anyone really wants to listen to me or hear about the major problems that currently exist.

I was at the park today. People were most certainly picking up their jackets today. Unfortunately, they ran out of vouchers so I didn't have a voucher from when I processed my pass. But people were getting them.

Awesome. This means that if I end up going Sunday, we'll be able to stay into the dark hours and I'll get to go through Massacre Manor--the only major HH attraction I didn't get to do that I wanted to do last Saturday. I'll have to get on the phone and let the rest of my little group know that The Beast will be open at night!