disco2000

It has worked flawlessly the past few years Does it only work for Gold passes? If it works for platinum, does Pass Perks accumulate and be rewarded at each park visited or only the "home" park where the pass was purchased? For example, if you purchased the platinum at Cedar Point does that mean you are only eligible for the pass perks at Cedar Point or can you visit KI 20 times and potentially be rewarded at KI as well? And let's not forget FunPerks from many years ago...

^The damaged piece has been removed and replaced.

I seem to recall the last positive post they made was after @BeeastFarmer called them out the last time for being so negative LOL. Lasted about a post or two LOL.

I guess technically it is true, but they have been having daily fireworks since May 28th until August 14th.... the article makes it sound like it is just this weekend lol https://www.wlwt.com/article/kings-island-to-have-fireworks-show-every-night-of-holiday-weekend/40489385

^And in that other thread, people posted what they thought the issue was.....When you are dealing with an older IP and companies have merged/split/remerged/family issues, etc. it doesn't take a lot for someone to make claim to an IP if it ever passed thru their hands. And in an instance like this, the drone show would be long over by the time the courts settled it, so the park simply quickly changed the animation. Doesn't impact the quality of the show at all. Personally I think the Knievel change is better now. Given how CF protects their IP on violations, it would be surprising if they didn't seek approval first for other IP...

Skyline confirmed lol. Working on the coney holders now

Let's get The Bat is down thread back on track...speaking of track, the damaged part of The Bat track has been removed (already noted above, but getting the thread back on track)....

^+1 this! A developer buying 25 acres is one thing. One developer purchasing 300+ acres at that cost/acre and the lag time associated from purchase to approval to build to occupancy would mean that developer has some very deep pockets to afford outlaying that much cash without income on the site for a period of time. Sure they may have some pre-sales, but probably not enough. You do realize most developments that fail are a result of a developer over extending their line of credit and run out of cash before a single unit is occupied. And then someone gets it partially developed at a fraction of the cost in many instances and finishes it off. A subdivision near me is on its 4 developer for that exact reason. Now a large national home developer came in and snagged it at a bargain price to finish it out.

^+1 exactly! We certainly don't need another round of basketball games LOL. Despite the official "reached its useful life" status, given the short notice, many believe that during a comprehensive inspection that it was determined that an expensive repair was on the horizon that accelerated when the useful life status hit....meaning that if that were the case, this was an unplanned piece of land to be slated for an attraction in the 5 year plan and thus had no plans slated...meaning that unless they revamped the CIP plan significantly (which can happen), that other attractions are already slated elsewhere and this one would be worked into the next round of planning cycles. Still surprised we haven't heard someone post a Son of Beast rumor next to The Beast so The Beast can watch over the child

I am sure part of it is there have been so many acquisitions/mergers/split off/re-mergers, etc. that everytime that happens, an organization sold off or spun-off will take claim to an IP whether it is valid or not. So the park could have obtained clearance from who says they own the IP, and then some spinoff organization claims that IP is theirs as part of the spin off (which would seem odd considering all the players remerged, but maybe the estate of Sherwood Schwartz makes claim to the logo?). It could be anything really. We are talking about a tv show that is over 50 years old, and its IP has gone thru lots of hands over the years. And the Knievel "1" could be some family dispute where a family member claims they own the IP and not the estate or something along those lines. These things can get messy over time. I seem to recall not to long ago a family dispute with Buzz Aldrin's family on who owns the IP of certain things he has. That is likely the case and the process to go thru courts to determine who owns the IP could be years, so it is much simpler to simply change the show. In the big scheme of things it doesn't distract from the show and isn't as super critical as some other IP conflicts have been regarding movies or other IP issues. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me if at some point some IP is disputed between CF and Paramount Global (what CBS/Viacom/Paramount are currently calling themselves). These things can get messy. Wouldn't it suck if Paramount Global made claim to the Phantom Theater IP...

Because of your statement alone, why would Canada want to lose that attraction and associated property taxes, payroll taxes, out of towner spending to the community? Sure some of that is recouped once housing goes in, but then there is lost revenue of out of town spending, which can be significant. You underestimate how much of an international draw Wonderland is. Look how many come from overseas to experience Niagara Falls and New York, etc. Since they are international visitors, they already have the credentials to enter the US and Canada and in about 2 hours they can be at Wonderland. And maybe they visit Toronto and take in a ballgame or other event going on there. And then from that they are about six hours to Cedar Point. Maybe it was an anomoly, but in every visit I made to Wonderland, talking to people in line most were not from Canada or the US, they were from other countries. Had a wonderful discussion with a family from Germany. Shared with them the rich German history of Cincinnati and joked about the lack of German food in the FestHaus lol. Spoke to many from India that were coming to the US to visit their children at a University in the states. Talk to a few from Australia. And a whole host of others from other European countries. Did speak to one local that could tell where I was from based on my accent LOL. But even if it wasn't an international draw, a park drawing 3-4million visitors per year would be a significant loss to the local community. And why would CF want to get out of that "monopoly" that is basically a cash cow for them? As long as the financial terms are beneficial and CF continues to basically have a "monopoly" on the theme park industry in Canada, it isn't going anywhere. Comparing a 25 acre movie theater site to a 300+acre Amusement park is a stretch. There was a movie theater across from KI that is now a church. Is KI next? The movie theater industry has been on a slow decline for years and covid certainly didn't help. This proposed 25 acre sale probably reflects that the owner can make more selling it than continuing to operate it. Top Gun and a few others have brought a resurgance back to movie theaters lately and time will tell if that can be sustained, but consumer habits have been going more to on-demand streaming services. Kinda hard to replicate the amusement park experience in your home LOL. Glad to see you do realize Mason is considered part of the Greater Cincinnati Area....and by every Chamber of Commerce in the region, KI is considered a significant asset for the entire region, just as I would believe Wonderland would be to its community. Believe me I get your point that the development around Wonderland has far outpaced what happens around KI and for likely what you said vertical development versus horizontal single family homes. Sure anything is possible, and a future government master plan could end up showing that the highest and best use of Wonderland property is for housing, but I would be shocked if that happens anytime soon. Highest and best use designation takes into consideration all the social-economic aspects of the region, not just that piece of land in isolation. And then of course once the highest and best use designation for a piece of property is different than what the land is currently being used for, you then need not only a willing seller, but a willing buyer. Unless Wonderland completely falls off the profitability chart, I would be shocked if a developer could pay enough to buy the property and recoup the purchase price into whatever they did with the land...I guess it is possible with vertical construction, but then you would have to deal with zone changes, greenspace, etc. and I do not know if the neighbors would be supportive of that all becoming high rise housing? I guess time will tell if your fears are justified!

The disassembly begins (just kidding...I hope...)

Sadly you are probably correct.... How many current teens on this site grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons? Is that even a programming choice anymore....

But how many that remember Phantom Theater were that younger guest at the time and have fond memories of it despite no interactive piece? New poll Lol - how old were you when you first rode Phantom Theater and how old were you in 2002 when it disappeared?

Look behind the sign lol. Some of the red bricks where people sit came loose and are now missing and just simply replacing them so that someone doesn't get hurt.

That is right up there with increasing the number of recycling cans (for those not paying attention the number of recycle bins in the park has been declining to almost non-existent right now....look at all the drink plan cups going to the landfill)....

What is even crazier is how many people do not even know or consider online purchases. I was talking to a family yesterday and they had 3 members with a season pass and 3 others that tagged along for the day and paid full gate price in-person and had no idea they could have even got a discount online, much less saving a few more bucks with the passholders!

Perception is reality and to the guest it was all Kings Island regardless of where the blame actually lies. Doesn't make it right, but that is the reality we live in. Take for example the sound. Was the talent contractually responsible for all the sound, rigging, power, etc. and if so would they come out and say "Our bad, not KI's fault" or would KI throw the talent under the tour bus and say "it wasn't our responsibility" and potentially deter other acts from coming here in the process? Or do you as a park just take the lumps and use it to try to improve going forward. But either way, even if the Avett Brothers said it was their malfunction, people will still have the perception it was KI's fault.

Totally agree! The only thing worse than the $9.99 was the Paramount Bring a Friend free on Father's day (at least I think it was free then or it was low enough to consider it free)...that was an overcrowded park by most people's definition.

In case you missed it, you can now use the Bring A Friend discount 7 days a week. Up to this point it was only Monday thru Thursday at $39.99 and they added Friday through Sunday for $44.99.

@Shaggy summed it up best here why it won't work (or would be difficult)...sure you can always contract out to the B-C listers or up-comers and one-offs that haven't hit it big yet that are not "contracted" through the outside promoters, but you will never get the likes of a Taylor Swift or Beyonce as part of their "tour" until they are washed up, in their sixties and start playing County Fair shows lol. Timberwolf was once able to draw the top billing, but too much has changed over the years.

Exactly! KI, KD and Wonderland were basically built on farm land without much around it. Go on top of KD Eiffel Tower present day and look around and that was pretty much the view from KI Eiffel Tower in the 70s. The boom hasn't happened around KD like the other parks. The land has filled in nicely around KI with homes on one side, commercial on two sides and a world class ATP stadium on the other side, yet there is still room for more growth around it. KD has a power plant facility closeby and lots of trees LOL. Wonderland is probably the most developed around of the 3 parks. Tightly densed housing and commercial/retail/hospital and not much left around it. The parks are what brought the development, so to take Wonderland away and make it more homes I would think a lot of people wouldn't be happy with that. Why go to Vaughn if all they have is housing? It is an international draw that the local community would want as it is people staying in hotels, dining, shopping, etc.

^Dang I hate when I miss a post LOL

EVERY ride will experience downtime. And a ride will go in waves. Diamondback got jealous when Orion was announced and experienced more than normal downtime that year lol. Orion has gone down a bit, as had Drop Tower and about every ride at some point in its life. KI works hard to get them open same day if they can. Sometimes it is a part they don't have sitting around like an extra Vortex lift chain or a part for Delirium and it is longer, but sometimes it is faster. Beast is open right now proving that just because they pull the trains off the track doesn't mean it is done for the day. They fixed it and opened it back up. You must just have bad luck... Our rides tend to have better uptime than our sister park up north...just saying...

The slingshot towers are not present today in case I didn't make it clear three posts above lol.