BB1

So of course I had to swing by KI tonight as it’s been a pretty mild week for crowds. Just as an update for those who are shopping for their coaster enthusiasts: 1. There are a good portion of the summer spirit jerseys back in stock! Blue Ice cream has been a “must have” on a few lists I’ve seen and of course the day after I ordered it to be express mailed to my house it is in stock in the park. (Ironically enough the first day I wore my WDW Christmas spirit jersey to the park as well). 2. 2025 Snoopy merch is out and it actually looks a lot more vibrant/stunning this year than in years past. (Please pardon the glare I literally had to snap the picture to crop so that the worker who was standing next to it wouldn’t be in frame) 3. The Knott’s collection is still in stock, unfortunately this year they decided not to bring back the pancake mix and biscuit mix. However there is still a good hearty mix to bring a little bit of Buena Park to Cincinnati.

Some of the decorations/theming at Cabana Bay this year. I’ll be heading out to the parks in a bit and will be getting *hopefully speaking* the USOAP for the Christmas season today at the lounge.

I honestly anticipated some of this reallocation of assets within the first few years. The fact that, from what I have been hearing/seeing, it's a majority legacy SIX assets is a somewhat interesting surprise up to this point. Better yet, I'm curious to see if the "special arrangement" water parks and parks that the SIX chain owns will remain in the future; as I honestly don't believe parks like Darien, or Frontier City remaining as active parks in the foreseeable future.

I’ll be in town the same weekend however I’m going to be way too focused on USO & WDW for Christmas to even think about going. The fact that tickets are that expensive doesn’t help either.

So it’s safe to assume “Haunt” as a name isn’t going anywhere as all of the Haunt merch is still full priced. Which is unfortunate as I was somewhat hoping it would be discounted on the last day of operations.

If you're coming from a park centric view then it's easy to assume that. I've been going to the waterpark for well over 20 years (I only recently learned that I did go to Water Works as a child which I remembered vaguely), I've worked both sides of the waterpark besides the new slide installation with the Tropical Plunge addition. I have been wanting a water coaster for years now, so I can't honestly complain much besides having to lug a tube up which honestly I already do that with several other slides in the park to begin with. The lack of a water coaster in a park is tantamount to lacking a Hyper in the line up. Sure you don't need it but it stands out when you get it. For water park enthusiasts like myself this is a welcomed move, just not where I believed it would venture to. Although, from a logistical standpoint it makes sense as the "shallow" side of the waterpark (think of everything left of Smokehouse) it is non stop slides, meanwhile "deep" (which is everything right of the Smokehouse) has a lot of scanning positions so having a slide complex like this gives lifeguards a breath instead of going from scanning position to scanning position. This is definitely a solid move in the right direction, the name stands out like a sore thumb in the tropical "city" theme they have but I think to say that this is a filler project is complete nonsense from a waterpark standpoint. Virtually major waterpark around Kings Island has at least a water coaster for years now, we're seriously behind on that front.

If you’re planning on coming out tonight virtually every house is full staff. I’ve had really solid runs on slaughterhouse, st Michelle and killmart already. Tonight feels like a very strong improvement/great way to end out the 2024 season.

I'm not even mad, honestly, I'm disappointed in just how childish/backwards this whole situation is.

I mean listen at the end of the day I’m taking Kings Island literally by the horns in how much I get out of my pass. I’m effectively making money at this point based on my tables I’ve been using. *However* the park just keeps letting itself down. I hate saying this, honestly as someone who worked at the park I do, I wish that the park does see a dip in revenue from the constant upkeep of the new bars as I think they’re a honest waste of space. I’m sure they’re going to become tax write offs but I have yet to frequent a single bar at the park because I honestly don’t have the need for it. I just feel like there’s a difference between straight up lackadaisical and living up to this so called world class experience I keep hearing about. As the great Don himself (paraphrasing) said in a recent Tower Topics episode it just takes a few people to really spearhead for something to make serious changes in the park; which I feel is lacking anymore with what I’ve seen over the past few years.

Rarely if ever I come to the forums to just post an honest tilt thread but low and behold after last night I feel as if this needs to be addressed. If you get the upgraded drink plan with the hot chocolate/icee addition, you would assume that you would get free hot chocolate at every location where they serve it. Boy was I wrong, For context I tried to get hot chocolate 6 times last night, 4 times at the I street icee stand, french corner, the last visit being a success, 1 with Auntie Ann's and one at Sweet Spot. I went to Auntie Anns, saw the hot chocolate machine and thought hey maybe this is it. Nope, I waited probably 10 minutes to be denied, then proceeded to be told that I don't even have the hot chocolate add on. That prompted me to go to guest services; you know when the last time I went to guest services? I honestly don't know because I never have issues at the park. I was then told that Auntie Ann's was not on the list, which makes absolutely zero sense to me, and then was given a list of places where I could get hot chocolate. So It listed coney's drink station, the i street locations mentioned, the funnel cake stand and Graeters. It also listed "sweet treats" which I assumed was sweet spot as I've never heard of that name being used before. Went there, saw the glorious hot chocolate machine infront of me, only to be denied by the worker after literally holding it because they are merchandise not food and bev. That absolutely just made things worse, I finally wound up back at the french corner, got my hot chocolate but this experience left one of the worst experiences I have ever had in my life. Now look, I know this isn't a direct line to the park, but I know park officials watch this. Mike Koontz literally talks about being more family friendly with Orion, then puts out a million and one bars which were open. YET when I try to get hot chocolate when it actually gets colder out I get the run around from broken down machines, denial of service and yet I could get an alcoholic beverage just fine. They even made merch for the new bar when we don't have any decent merch for a few of our coasters. Like if you really want to be family friendly then give us access to the hot chocolate as we requested. Kings Island needs to be better than this, I had to try 6 times to get a hot chocolate last night and the fact that I've spent the money and was denied the service at several locations is absolutely ludicrous. It's one park, every location should satisfy this request if they can satisfy my icee and my regular drinks. Which I don't even think it's a tech issue, I honestly believe at this point the park is just that backwards right now because on one hand they're pumping out alcohol stands that never have a line while the main draws aren't getting the attention they deserve. I'm already communicating this to other friends of mine for the inevitable winterfest rush as believe me this will only become more of a problem. So for those who want hot chocolate on your visit, I implore you to go to guest services get a certified note on where you can use your pass perks and bring that with you; as at this point I just don't trust this system anymore which is really upsetting. Yes, I'm making a formal complaint today at the park as I'm honestly baffled as to why this is even an issue to begin with.

Good luck trying to get hot chocolate tonight, several machines have went down tonight, I tried 3 times and all 3 times no hot chocolate. It’s a travesty on so many levels that all of International street has no hot chocolate period.

^I woke up at 4:50 on Thursday and snagged the full 6 one day tix for the first six days of operation. It’s going to be busy but honestly I would regret not going opening day if I can go to opening day. The fact tickets sold out so quickly is not surprising.

The bathroom in question is basically on the far side of the original wave pool, just opposite of Mondo. Basically that restroom is traditionally dead which makes it an easy spot to change in and out of which looks as if it may become way more busier this upcoming season. I'll gladly welcome the upgrades though, if we could get some larger stalls and automatic faucets that would seriously elevate the guest experience especially, for those like myself, who don't want to hike in wet clothes all the way to the front changing rooms/middle changing rooms.

Oh believe me I know, it's honestly a travesty. I hope with the unified six merger they take a more horror driven approach and bring back some of the skeleton motifs we had in years past. I feel like if they want the bars to be filled then they should promote this as a mature event. Better yet, the fact that there are still unsupervised youth getting yelled at by security, which I saw last night even, just shows that the chaperone policy needs a stronger grasp. It just feels counterintuitive for the park to be "family friendly" for events like this but open up dozens of bars that are 21+ and try to have a "world class haunted event".

Remember when the park actively said that haunt was not a children’s event? Well not anymore! I can’t even believe that I’m saying this but I saw infants, toddlers and more last night and it honestly somewhat tilted me. The fact that someone had an infant in line for a house (did the child go through? I’m not sure as they were behind me) was just really off putting. I feel like the “this event is for individuals 13 and over and is designed for mature audiences” statements in years past was basically hammered in and now kids are being brought up like it’s trick or treat? Look it’s your kids, you can do whatever you want, but the park just used to be so much better about the event. I want blood, I want more gore, I want for me to feel like I’m in a horror flick. I think that’s partially why I love Hooked is because it felt like old Haunt remastered. Having so many kids show up makes me feel like the park can’t venture too deep into it and I feel like scarezones could use more TLC. Case in point, I feel like the park needs to communicate this more to the general public that this is a mature event and that this is designed to be a horror event not a family event. That’s just my two cents, which is upsetting as I remember just how good Haunt was in years past and wants that level of theming/quality back in the park.