disco2000

Exactly. It is evident walking in that they are maintaining the park. Now some here say that is a given and KI shouldn't be given credit for it. I disagree. Sprucing the place up, painting buildings and coasters, adding/fixing broken stuff, etc. is a sign that they are putting money in the park. Again, if they go too many years without a major improvement, then yes they will start to see more people not renew, but I do not see KI going many years without a true capital improvement. You mention shows, and yet look at people griping about Grand Carnivale coming back (and that is not cheap to put on)... Sometimes you can't please everyone...

Why yes we will see downgrades LOL, For Haunt nights, the VIP now closes at 8pm instead of park close. Right now that means it will be open for 2 hours on Friday's for people to get their infused water fix LOL....or do they simply not open it at all on Fridays. And then on Saturday it will be final call for warm infused water at 8pm although the park is open for 4 more hours.

^Exactly. Being a regional/local park in close proximity to so many that has a very strong season passholder base, people will renew even if nothing is added because the value is too great, especially now with the meal and drink plans. Where else can you be fed all summer (and weekends in fall and winter) for $100? People spend more than that in a mini-quick trip to the grocery every week. Simply put, the cost/hour of entertainment value is a fraction of almost any other entertainment venue. Of course if enough time went by with no new additions and the park started to look run-down and not being kept up, then yeah they will start to see a decline in pass renewals.

Well we are talking in the Prestige pass thread and that was added along with improvements for folks with that pass in 2023 that may or may not be on the table come 2023. And just think they paid a premium to get infused water Maybe it is time to create a 2023 Park thread since people that don't care about the prestige pass may miss out on all the griping about nothing new being added for 2023...

So does the leftover Skyline Chili take the place of the bagged snacks or is this an addition Based on what I have heard and read, Skyline infused water would an improvement over what was provided

Since we are on the Prestige pass thread, we can talk about what is new for them in 2023 LOL. We know these passholders are getting some sort of reserved area at Soak City for next year, unless they strip that away between now and then

Guest services have told people you get two this year and are not restricted by day like the renewal Bring a Friend....but Guest Services have also said it worked at CP and the VIP included bottled drinks....which was true in the beginning...so who knows what the message is this week as they continue to devalue the experience.

I am sure you are not over analyzing this... I think they finally realized that the chair reserving fiasco that currently takes place at Soak City would be even worse in the VIP. Imagine walking into a vacant VIP and can't find a seat because everyone is "reserving" them with their towels and belongings... I am thinking they will rope off the big grassy area and that becomes the "Reserved Water Park area".... Anyone want a refund LOL

Other than enthusiasts, I do not think the GP cares who the spokesperson is... Most GP probably cannot even name the spokesperson of a particular park. Except for a brand new park, I think most are visiting existing parks based on their personal experiences, word of mouth of friends and neighbors, rankings in USA today and what not, and not whether the marketing/spokesperson is keeping people up to date with future plans. Heck, when was the last billboard or print ad you have seen for KI (that dropped off tremendously with covid and hasn't ramped back up) and yet we all continue to go and they continue to attract new visitors that are first timers to KI from all over the country. I think across CF their traditional marketing efforts have been less than years past, yet they are setting records for revenue and what not. Stay-cation fever is real for the regional parks. I assure you the families I met and interacted with at the park that this was their first visit from St. Louis, Nashville, West Virginia, and a whole host of other locations were not here based on PR tweets from Chad....

^Not only that, but it is also being noticed by the non-enthusiasts. This is the first time in probably forever that you seem to see more posts on social media where people say KI is a better park than CP. Sure they have the hotels and the beach and scenic views, but KI associates absolutely kick butt in getting rides dispatched, our maintenance works their butts off to keep ride downtime to a minimum, we run rides in rain, we have better food overall (yeah I know some of the newer CP places beat ours), and we don't have 45min + FastLane lines. When was the last time (excluding TTD) that CP had the remaining coasters operating all day? I know die-hard CP fans that after the past few years experiences of ridiculous long wait times, slow dispatches, rides and food closed, that they skipped CP this year.

Does the park spokesman have a name? Can't recall I ever saw a news article about any topic where they wouldn't spell out who the spokesperson is... "Kings Island was named "Park of the Year" at the international Golden Ticket Awards. A park spokesman called it the Academy Awards of the amusement park industry." https://local12.com/news/local/kings-island-named-park-of-the-year-in-industry-awards-ceremony-cincinnati-mason-ohio-anniversary-fireworks-planet-snoopy-show-beast-mystic-timbers-Diamondback-orion

Meanwhile at the flagship sister park to the north: https://sanduskyregister.com/news/407202/cedar-point-does-not-make-2022-best-parks-list/?fbclid=IwAR0HohJKnBC784H_g4mVjKEH0u2D6HxGH_DsEIZLpWZUY2_I2_dcqm9t_d4

Are you sure it is 92 LOL. I think we could push that into the 80s. They will never bring Winterfest back. This is the last year of the fireworks. They will never sellout Fast Lane at $50 per day. Throw enough jelly at trees, something will stick at some point LOL

^While nice, it would be some time before I think we would see CF do that. Heck KI already has a barely used indoor facility already with great views worthy of VIP that could have been used for that, even if only on select days, and they elected not to. But I guess anything is possible LOL.

It wasn't in the marketing emails, it was in the FAQs. The original FAQ specifically mentioned soft drinks and bottled drinks. And the newest addition to the VIP FAQs - anyone planning on using it for Haunt is out of luck after 8PM. I guess the parents that planned to stay at the park and sit in the VIP with their bottled drinks and snacks while their teens roamed around will now just drop them off like years past LOL

In honor of this award, there will be no tree out front to get in the way, and the Haunt facade will be forsaken to show off this glorious award (just kidding LOL. The Haunt facade stuff has already started) The tree is still a few weeks out LOL

And the FAQ has already been changed to complimentary water.....previously it said bottled drinks. Can't wait to see what they limit or remove next. Nice way to tick off your highest paying guest that probably significantly contributed to the per cap spending as well... Can here the bigwigs now "Hey you all just won Park of the Year so let's downgrade the VIP experience now"

Sorry for the double post. The bottled drinks are now a thing of the past. All that is available is the infused water. The downgrading continues.... And I am sure the complaints will increase....

Kings Island "Park of the Year" is a Publisher's choice award that was not voted on. "Best Park" was a voted category.

That was quick

^Let's hope they ended up not doing like TriHealth.....that Sunday a couple weeks ago was a packed park! And that is probably what Taylor is alluding to!

^But even the current one that is hot with very little air movement and poor shade most of the day, some folks camp out in there LOL. If they oversold the pass like many suspect they did, they need to keep it kinda uncomfortable so that people rotate out of it so that there is room for others that want to use it While I agree it should be nice, if it is too nice people won't leave LOL.

Whats wrong with two Drop Towers in a park? KI has two - Drop Tower and Kite Eating Tree LOL. This one would be a free fall instead of cable-driven and a lot taller. They have more than one coaster LOL and they had two sets of antique cars for example. I think it is an intriguing concept that was proposed and not one that many have considered - it seems everyone is gravitated towards it being LSM and still being a coaster, but this is a concept that could happen and would certainly be less expensive than new trains, adding some track and LSMs.

^Several of my friends did to no avail. The got some heart felt sorry though.

^ Exactly! I said it earlier that I think if CF came out and said "my bad" and explained that after the soft launch of this program, they feel they cannot provide the experience they were looking to provide and offered refunds for the difference between the pass the person would have bought and Prestige, it would be better received than if the experience is horrific next year. I think many would accept that given they have already experienced the benefits of front of the line and snacks and drinks that they would be ok with it. Sure some would be ticked, but they can never please everyone. It wouldn't surprise me if they evaluate refunds versus the costs to provide a better experience during the off-season. It is evident though from this site and social media that many feel the honeymoon is over on this experience already. So let's raise the price LOL. I guess better than giving it away....