BB1

Update: You can use your prestige pass bring a friend at Cedar Point. Very frustrating to have two conflicting bits of information but I believe, personally, that the first individual was just giving a blanket statement without looking into it and the second knew what was going on.

Once again I come with another story of how terms are subject to change still occurs in this day in age after the merger. Season Passes | Season-Long Access | Kings Island How do I redeem my free Bring-A-Friend? Present your valid Prestige Pass at any ticket services window, and your guest will receive a ticket and lounge voucher. The Prestige Bring-A-Friend benefit is good for two visits annually during the pass validity. You may use the two free visits on the same day or use one visit on two separate days. Passholder must be present to redeem this offer. Prestige with the All Park Passport add-on can also redeem Bring-A-Friend tickets at other legacy Cedar Fair parks. Note that only two Bring-A-Friend tickets are available annually during the pass validity, regardless of at which legacy Cedar Fair park they are used. For context, the park advertised that you can use your bring a friend VIP ticket at ANY legacy Cedar Fair parks. Prestige receives exclusive benefits at the home park for which the pass is eligible. Prestige with the All Park Passport add-on receives exclusive benefits at the home park the pass was purchased through, plus unlimited visits to ALL Six Flags parks and the exclusive benefits at other legacy Cedar Fair parks offering the Prestige Pass. Prestige 2 annual Bring-A-Friends may be redeemed at all legacy Cedar Fair parks; Prestige Single Use Fast Lane benefits may be redeemed at all legacy Cedar Fair parks except Schlitterbahn Galveston and Schlitterbahn New Braunfels; the remaining Prestige benefits are only available at Canada’s Wonderland, Carowinds, Cedar Point, Kings Dominion, Kings Island, and Knott’s Berry Farm. Benefit availability may vary by park, please contact the park you are planning to visit for questions regarding applicable benefits. This is a direct quote from the Cedar Point website mind you. After the lengthy battles of “terms are subject to change” I am ultimately skeptical of what the parks actually offer and this always call in to confirm information. I started off calling into KI over the weekend, where they said they are 99.99% sure that I should be able to use my bring a friend VIP benefit at Cedar Point. They referred me to Cedar Point to confirm and I did exactly that today. When I spoke with the operator, they stated verbatim that my bring a friend is valid ONLY at my home park. Totally contradicting what the park stated on their website. I’m going to call again tomorrow with this information but I wanted to let everyone know that once again there seems to be a major disconnect in what is offered and what is actually served. I’m hopeful this is just a simple bit of lack of coordination however if this is the case it’s extremely disheartening that what is communicated vs what is offered are totally contradictory. I’ll be totally transparent here: I hate not knowing what my pass actually gets me. I want for what I paid for to be valid and clear, which in my experience is as clear as mud with SIX and legacy Cedar Fair parks. I know park execs look at these forums, I know park employees look at these forums, I’m taking the avenues that are available to at least confirm what I can do; but this level of confusion is just unreal. I’m sorry, this should be a simple memo or an excel reference sheet it shouldn’t be a legal quagmire that turns into a he said she said situation.

My issue is that I feel like the BBQ selection has been diluted. When we had Tri Tip, pulled pork, ribs and rotisserie chicken. We had a brilliant season with the first seasonal run, burnt ends just doesn't cut it for me in terms of BBQ quality. I found it funny that even Tower Topics is highlighting that there are so many locations with chicken tenders. I believe that yes, giving something for everyone is important; however I feel like this push really just rubbed me the wrong way. Put it in certain locations, Grain and Grill which is supposed to be fresh, Coney BBQ which is supposed to be BBQ items, should not be the venues for a fried product like chicken tenders.

There’s a time and place for accolades, I’ll call the park out when they are doing a great job. The fact Larosas in I Street had AC was wonderful. The fact of the matter is that I’m a paying passholder, who worked at the park and has a vested interest in wanting the park to succeed. Those who argue that critiques aren’t needed and that everything is hunky dory should realize that every addition that comes to the park originates from some sort of critique or lack in the guest experience. I want for people I know to recognize Kings Island as a world class experience, I want people to have a myriad of reasons to come to the park. Conversations like this are why previews and openings occur, to see what works, to see what resonated and make changes moving forward. Don’t think for a second that individuals in the park don’t read these forums, they most certainly do. Opening Day was enjoyable, much more laid back, less crowds and more of a relaxed atmosphere. Really excited to come back with my newly purchased Kings Island button up shirt sometime!

I am beyond thankful that I took a ton of photos of those last year. Very upsetting that the last vestiges of BB are gone but the wood was looking worse for wear. I'm looking forward to the additions, I'm excited to see other slides if they got new paint jobs like Tropical Plunge and I'm excited to see if we get some new landscaping as we desperately need trees and lush landscaping.

So I decided to just make a post in this thread instead of making a trip report update on my trip report topic as it's a little more relevant here. I want to be very clear, I am not pessimistic about the park to be a downer, far from it. I worked in the park for years, I still know people in the industry, I respect their careers and the employment of every employee at the park as I know the struggles they go through throughout the year. The park today was an interesting reflection on market pressures that we have seen on people buying season passes at lower rates. The fact that I got to the park around 12:50 and the parking lot was already to the brim was shocking. Better yet, being a Prestige passholder expecting to check in at the preferred parking guard shack, I found no one. In fact, anyone could park there today which I honestly didn't appreciate. I paid money for this perk, I want to make sure those who also paid for the perk are being allowed but everyone and their brother parked there. In fact, as I was leaving there were cars parked in non parking zones without tag or ticket which just added to the proverbial circus going on there. The new security entry just screams issues in the future. I hope the park can be flexible and move the stations to support higher volume days but the current set up has me concerned for lines out the door for events like Haunt and Winterfest. The park itself was busy, and that's an understatement. Lines went all the way out into the midways, there were no precautions to support guests and lines accumulating to the point where the enrique's line and Racer was practically back-to-back. Alas, eventually turnstiles were eventually opened but the park was packed beyond belief. That coupled with the fact that Coney BBQ had to open the second side around 1:20 says everything about the crowd situation. As for operations, I know it's the preview day, people are new, I'm not going to disparage anyone for being fresh and getting on board as that is normal to have going into the season. The fact Diamondback is in 2 train operations was concerning. I will say that doesn't mean that the visit was without concerns. I walked into the Larosas today and the ac was Off or just not running at a high enough tempo the fact that it felt more intensely hot in the Larosa's quick service in International Street than what it was outside made me seriously consider the working conditions for the employees in that moment. Could it have been that something was going on in that given moment and was fixed after my visit? Who knows, my point is that it was intense and I couldn't believe it. The merchandise situation, well that's changed as well. Emporium itself has a new line of cosmetic soaps and lotions, which my sister who would be in that target demographic was even confused as to why the park would offer this. The middle section just felt off in comparison to the rest of the store, which I wish the park offered some home goods for the park in that section as I think it would fit well with the flow of the store in general. The merchandise at Island Collection & Trading company was the usual flare, but the park is seriously pushing squishmellows, even those not associated with the park. Which the new layout for Trading Company just feels very Point Plaza, which is a great thing to have a modern, fresh location that has easy access to park merchandise. I have to give credit where credit is due, the new button up shirts are a welcomed addition to the merchandise line up in Island Collection, same for the quarter zip jacket. I will most certainly be wearing this in the office Monday but I wish we had more business wear from the park like this. I want to lastly touch on the VIP Lounge experience, the people who work there are honestly some of the most hospitable people I spoke to the entire day. Ride ops in Boo Blasters didn't even ask us if we enjoyed the ride, just stayed silent and pointed for the exit. The group who works it is incredible, and I cannot say anything ill to them. What I can say is that the Coke machine was flat, but at least I got my cookie. My capstone is this: The park overall is trending in positive directions in most directions. Tropical Plunge got a new paint job and it looks stunning. River Racers looks amazing, so I have no major qualms there. I feel like the food quality (rather have more fleshed out menus than almost every location having chicken tenders, am I really the only one who has a problem with every location that isn't Larosa's, Enriques, Skyline or Panda having chicken tenders?) has some improvement, I'm a foodie at the end of the day, we were spoiled by Major taking chances and bringing our experience up a level. I APPRECIATE the fact Chef Perez was in the kitchen at Coney BBQ and was really bringing everything he could to support the team, I think he has amazing talent and I'm hoping he has the chance to showcase that more with improved offerings throughout the year. I know he makes good food as the Chef's Plate is wonderful, I just would like to see more robust menu options and more catering of certain foods to certain venues to drive more demand. (hint hint chicken shack) Also, Mike Koontz was on location and met with Perez at Coney BBQ. That's the kind of leadership I want to see from the park and I support that a million times over. As always, I am hopeful for the future, I am critical as I know the level of professionalism the park can bring to the table; I want the park to thrive, I want new enthusiasts to have memories like I did when I was younger.

I had lunch and dinner at the park: Coney BBQ simply put felt like the park was not prepared for the event. They have one side open and only opened the other side when we got to the front exchange point. To say I feel like the park needs to refine is an understatement. I MISS the tri tip, give me brisket give me something that is a BBQ standard. The fact we have chicken tenders makes no sense as we have a whole restaurant dedicated to chicken tenders. My issue is that sure I enjoy the burnt ends but I wish we had seasonal offerings that switched things up a bit. The burnt ends are decent, the potatoes were okay but not something I would get again. The portion sizes for the potatoes are small, the flavoring I felt was a decent stab at trying something different which tasted good but I feel like the other sides give you so much more. Would love to see collard greens come back but I’m unsure when that would ever come back. I think my point here is that I hope the park gives the head chef the opportunity to use the Coney BBQ as a way to expand on the guest experience. There’s a lot of opportunities that I hope the park takes advantage of. As for dinner I got Grain & Grill. This is where I figured out the overall situation on portion sizes. If you get a “cupped” side like a salad or macaroni & cheese it looks like you get more quantity than just standard potatoes. I got the honey soy beef and Greek salad, ironically I didn’t get offered naan bread which might have been a fluke but I didn’t see anyone else getting naan bread which I hope isn’t a budget cut moving forward. Same quality overall but I hope that we can keep the same portions as we did last year moving forward.

Queen City Stunt Coaster……Rethemed and not in operation currently.

*double post* Here’s what the Monster looks like currently, no signage informing guests that it’s currently SBNO. Had to even tell one of my friends that it’s just waiting for a part and not taken out.

The line for Coney BBQ, Enrique’s met at the edge of coney and adventure port with the line for racer before the turnstiles were opened. Suffice to say this is just as packed as what I thought opening day would be. Parking is at the edge of the lot already and it’s only going to get more packed as the day goes by.

I’ll even go a step further to say the park should be making statements in blog posts or directly to their Facebook with changes, not a Facebook group or better yet not even making a post about their height requirements changing and policies shifting which I’ll admit I didn’t even know till I listened to Tower Topics on the way to work yesterday. I 1000% believe he is doing a great job with the FB group, no harm or foul directed to him but for those who aren’t in the group like how I was for years before joining last year, they wouldn’t have a direct answer and hear a rumor. I’ll be the first one to say it was because of his post that I called my aunt who lives in Portland about her favorite ride being shut down, then had to recant after hearing the reality of it all. The point I’m making here is that it does not take more than 5-10 minutes to make a simple blog about changes to park operations and if PR doesn’t have time to do that then KI management needs to review what they are actually doing because that’s the whole point of the job: communicate news about the park and get guests to be enthused about the park so they have a new reason or a reflection to revisit the park.

Another reason why I will remain an UOAP! Very happy with this and it reiterated the fact that I will not need express for my trip in May. I will be taking a day (literal flight down and back) to go to Epic for a preview day during the week in the next two weeks, to say I’m excited is an understatement! On another note, any thoughts on what we may see for the Summer Tribute Store? I have a few theories myself but would love to hear what everyone else thinks!

^I’m honestly conflicted as on one side I’m going to be spending a whole week in Epic, the other is that I’m REALLY excited to check out Epic asap. Very good chance that I may just day trip fly down and back on a week day to get less crowds at this point!

From what I’ve heard there’s a chance that the actual attendance on opening day will be limited for the park to ease in to full operations. I actually caught wind of it this morning and I legit said “I’m going for the full first week of operations, I’m EPIC’d out”. I’ll probably be back to epic in the fall and a short trip in December for the chance for them to have a Christmas overlay. Suffice to say I feel extremely blessed to say I will be at the park on opening day. In fact, we’re planning on getting there super early so that we can be one of the first in. I will be going down for previews when they open for passholders, which may entail two trips in April (am I complaining? No because I’m feeling the travel itch and I’ve been in Cincy for about a month straight!).

My current thesis is April as team member previews are happening now. I’m tentatively scheduled to be back in Orlando at least one of the first few weeks in April at this point so I’m hopeful we get previews then!

I’m just happy Winterfest is back! 2025 will be the year to come out and participate in events to make sure they keep coming back. The numbers, at the end of the day, will probably influence the likely hood of future productions.

Walt Disney World: I've been going to WDW with my pass every other month on average bar some changes since May of last year, primarily as Dinoland has been in transition to removal. That being said I came back down after Dinoland has been removed, being there on it's final few days of operations. Suffice to say it's a shame that WDW couldn't revitalize the unique theme and expand upon it as the removal just looks sad. No matter which quote about progress you put up, it's not the same. I will say for those who saw that the Alioramus is back fully functioning, and the effects are still in gear. In regard to the rest of the park we checked out Expedition Everest, quoted at 25 min, actually waited more like 10. We took one lap around DAK before taking the bus over to Yacht Club to walk over to EPCOT. Being it was Valentine's Day weekend, I was anticipating a decently sized crowd. That being said, Living with The Land was quoted at 45 and we waited just about 30 min. This will become a reoccurring theme as it feels as if the park purposefully hyper-inflates wait times around the parks. The Festival of the Arts was my main draw, we went over to the Japan pavilion to start out with a sake shot that came in a wooden decorated box with your name in Kanji, the wagyu bao bun and the sushi donut. Overall, I had no problems with any dishes, they were all full of flavor and felt like the quality you would want out of a food event like this. We also got the beef wellington and the fried mozzarella, all were excellent dishes with no lapses in quality. We topped off our visit with Journey W/ Figment and hopped over to Disney Springs for lunch proper at the Boathouse. If you're looking for the classic 90's-00's red, black and white mickey merch, it's finally back at Disney Springs. They also have a new sorcerer mickey line which the hat is reminiscent of what MGM used to have years ago. We decided after that to head back to USO as crowds were building at Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom. I will say however WDW/Orlando in general no longer has a down season. As a child I would be in Orlando in February and have minimal lines, those days are definitely gone with the sports and cheerleading events happening. I would implore you if you're planning on a weekend getaway, be prepared for the crowds, they are still there they're not going anywhere. I'll be back in a few weeks with another Orlando update, pendant on whether or not I decide to come down in March or just wait for April to do passholder previews for Epic! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

There’s just way too much going on that single weekend. To be frank with you I will be coming off a whole week in Epic Universe, I had no plans on doing HWN or Coasterstock as it’s just way too much happening all at once. I’m not shocked, in the slightest, that this event did not sell out because HWN took precedent as it went on sale first.

To think we're two months into the year and I've already had two weekend trips to Orlando, I think it's the perfect time to start my 2025 Trip Report thread! For context, YTD I've done the following parks: Universal Studios Orlando: 4 visits (2 per weekend) Islands of Adventure: 4 Visits (2 per weekend) Disney's Animal Kingdom: 2 visits (1 per weekend) EPCOT: 2 visits (1 per weekend) Hollywood Studios: 2 visits (1 per weekend) Magic Kingdom: 1 visit (1 weekend) I'll take the first post to look at Universal's offerings for Mardi Gras as it's honestly something I look forward to every year. Mardi Gras, arguably one of the shorter events in the park, it still has a lot of opportunities to bring new food and guest experiences to the park. The Cursed Coconut Club was excellent this year, I loved the theming and decor, but the drink selection was actually not terrible. For those who know the Universal saga on bitters, that's no longer an issue at least with the Aura Glow. Albeit expensive, it was a nice sipper for what it's worth. The theme this year played into the idea you were in the midsts of floats and a Mardi Gras carnival so to speak. With great music to the fortune teller, it is an experience you definitely don't want to miss out on. For the food selection I would definitely implore you to try the Pinchos De Lechon, effectively pork skewers with a piece of bread to top it off. It is honestly my favorite food from the event, the apple strudel was great, the beignets were wonderful. The Category 5 Punch honestly packed a punch, fruity and actually enjoyable, very reminiscent of the goblin juice for HHN. The tribute store is arguably one of my favorite ones to date for Mardi Gras. Effectively you are walking through a cryptid museum talking about the lore of the bayou and the cryptids therein. There were plenty of nods to the failures of Animal Kingdom, from a section with colorful dinosaur toys like Dinoland, to the dinosaur relics in the display case, to the coup de gras: Disco Yeti. Yes, you heard me right, disco yeti is in the tribute store. My main gripe is that there wasn't the chance to be in the Tribute Store as like years past, as I would have definitely jumped in on this one after the success of the summer Tribute Store. Another issue is that the merch collection is fairly limited, there were alot of repeats and I feel as if, if they did merchandise in light of the tribute store theme it would go over well with the passholders. Speaking of the passholder offerings, I didn't get a UOAP magnet as I have in years past as the new magnet is one you have to pay for and the design didn't really speak to me. Which was honestly somewhat upsetting as I was looking forward to getting some new bumper magnets for March. I think my main take away for 2025 is that even though I have been to the park plenty of times, there is still more to see and do. Outside of the festivities the park operations are still spectacular, even with the major school groups coming in there is plenty to do around the parks that don't involve waiting in lines. I will say the renovations on the MIB attraction are definitely noticeable, I feel like we got some updated blaster recognition and is arguably my favorite shooting dark ride I've ridden to date. Tomorrow I'll drop some thoughts on Disney's removal of Dinoland, a review on the EPCOT Festival of the Arts and more!

It costs way more to maintain a large structure and keep staffing when you could be losing money vs having a plot of land ready to go for a new expansion opportunity. I'll say this now, I know there will be something being removed at KI without a doubt; as it's happening chainwide. Xtreme Skyflier's removal doesn't hurt any integral attractions, nor does it really affect the overall guest experience like an Invertigo removal or Congo Falls. I've been around the block enough to know people on the inside but also know how the park works. I don't see Koontz wanting to have a ride like Monster or Shake Rattle & Roll removed, this is a safe and effective move to cut costs and give the opportunity to have a sizeable expansion pad.

At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if KI gets an attraction axed this year. I’ve always heard rumblings about Xtreme Skyflyer being removed for years now, which I think would be in line with the corporate reduction in force. It’s the last pay to ride attraction and it takes up way too much space that could be used for a new addition. I think, and would be willing to assume at this point that if anything gets removed from Kings Island’s line up it would be that. It’s a major cost saver and it doesn’t hurt the overall park lineup in any way shape or form.

Chipotl…..erm I mean Enrique’s or the Coney BBQ. It’s mainly due to the value you get for the meal but also they both have excellent patios.

So just as a brief update here’s a few photos from the Mardi Gras Tribute Store! I loved the theme, and it honestly felt like an honest jab at Disney with the Animal Kingdom decisions as of late. With a heavy focus on dinosaurs, retro tacky dinosaur toys it felt like another jab at the many for them removing Dinoland. The Disco Yeti of course speaks for itself but it feels like this was a clever way of saying that universal isn’t as tone deaf as what Disney has been. Honestly I feel like this tribute store played heavily on a solid theme but I WISH we got some merchandise that references this tribute store. After the summer tribute store event with the shirt and the socks I thought we would get something but unfortunately it doesn’t look like they are doing that program nor the photo program where you can be in the tribute store.

IIRC this was a promotional event with the Share a Coke With program. Basically you’d have a stand where you could get samples and if memory serves me right it would also have a share a Coke station to make your own label. I think this would have been circa 2014-2015. It wasn’t a terribly long stint and I believe it was traveling across the chain at that point for their Coke promos.