brenthodge

I think that is my point This would have been a very appropriate response. The total lack of one really shows a commitment (or lack thereof) to guest feedback and satisfaction. Not renewing season passes this year - lost revenue for them.

For what its worth - the text of the email. I know it was very long, and that is my problem. I tend to bottle up observations, and it may have not been goverly positive, but I also had a whole "seasons worth" of things that just kept bugging me. I tried to indicated how much we want to love and be proud to "show off" the park. This was sent (at his request) to Robert.Hartshorn@visitkingsisland.com when I noted on the feedback page that it was challenging to provide feedback in 250 words or less. Its very interesting the number of people saying they dont get any response. That to me is amazing in a business that it all about entertainment and guest experience. That is really the only "product" they are selling, and to not address guest's preceived shortcomings in that "product" shows a fundamental inability to connect within their hospitality business model. First let me begin by saying I consider KI our "home" park as we live 20 min away, had passes this year and visited many times. That being said, I feel a lot of frustration each time I visit seeing the potential that the park COULD have and seeing it fall short. Our family hasn't really been to the park a lot since the Cedar Fair acquisition until this year with our passes. I think we may have come 2-3 times over the past few years - not enough to really take in the details. Our kids are nor 8 and 5. Our 5 yo girl LOVES rides and wants to go on everything. Our 8 yo son loves any well themed ride with an EXPERIENCE (like stunt track with the police cars) and is only starting to like bigger rides (and only then if there is a theme to distract him - like Adventure Express which he is loving. We got passes hoping to really let "Thrills Connect" like your slogan says. Through this season, I have just gotten more and more frustrated with the opportunities I see to be an amazing park, not just the average place it has become. This past Sunday (9/1)on a major holiday weekend, when you could have put your best face forward, it all come full circle and I cant just complain to my wife anymore. I'll just go down my "list" INTERNATIONAL STREET • The "front door" of the park needs love. Many of the buildings are in real need of paint and refurbing. 24 million would go a long way toward that •Lights along the rooflines are spotty at best. Lights in the trees could make it really special at night, and probably improve bottom line as people might want to hang out here more and buy more. •The music is ANNOYING While I don't mind top 40 in Coney, what happened to more dramatic, instrumental music that actually set a mood and created an impact. I can hear what plays throughout the park on my radio in the car. I want to come to this place to escape and have an experience - not feel like I am blasting my home stereo speakers through my open windows. •The food options provide no "international" feel and remind my how overpriced the park is, since all that is there is stuff I can get right outside (Auntie Ann's) for a lot less money. If I had food options that I didnt have a "real world" comparison to I wouldn't mind as much. •The clock on the front of Festhaus is a total embarrasment - the door is broken open with a character half in and half out, the clock doesn't work and all the flags are missing - again, where is the experience? Would 24 million help that out? •Tower gardens is a sad looking smoking porch. Where are the flowers or details to make this little corner actually something worth going into - why are the waterfalls off? •The flower clock - can you really not afford flowers to plant the whole clock? Mulch is fine, but come on - its a major centerpiece to the entrance to the park and its only half planted. Maybe some of that 24 million? •The fountains are only half lit at night. The new show at Canadas Wonderland is exactly the type of show KI should be moving toward, but in the mean time the blue lights should be replamped so what we have still looks great • The carousel has peeling paint all around, and why has the caliope been removed? Those are the little details that make a park special - those and the topiaries that used to be around the carousel like the horse, the Eiffel Tower, the bell, the hanging basket - all the things that don't go fast, don't go upside down, don't make you any money, but make the park a place I WANT to show off to out of town guests. • Whatever is left of Starlight Spectacular is unbelievably embarassing. I am surprised that the park even lists this in the entertainment guide. I honestly cant believe the state it has gotten in in only three years. I remember this from its first year. It was an odd idea, but well done. On Sunday it was one bush with a few red lights. A few stars with only a few red parts lit up. A few floodlights in the trees and one color - not all working - of the zigzag on the tower lit - not cycling. Only one of the characters was lit. The flowers haven't moved all season. Most of the trees are dead and removed around the tower. What trees are left dont even light up half the time. This to me shows that the management really doesn't care about keeping the "extras" going. The posts from where there was a sign for the "spectacular" a few years ago are still there with no sign even on them. If I was "showing off" my home towm park to people I would be embarrassed by this. There are so many ways to keep guests in the park later and keep them spending later, that I dont understand the total abandonment of this area. I hope there are some plans to use the technology and infrastructure that is there for some other type of evening light show as it is sad to let it all go to waste the way it is Planet Snoopy • Why not play some Peanuts instrumental music here mixed into the "kids bop" stuff that plays at WAY too loud volume? • Why not use the Starlight Spectcular characters and idea here to show the fun "year round" the peanuts gang can have - like the Starlights at your other parks • Why not create a fun, family dark ride using the Peanuts characters to create an immersive ride experience and make new fans. I bet 24 million could develop an awesome family ride that had themeing and immersive elements • Many of the characters in the Boo Blasters don't work anymore - the one family dark ride in the entire park only half works RIVER TOWN •Would 24 million dollars make a dent in creating an awesome, truly original attraction for that really large - formerly awesomely themed building thats just sitting there like a sore thumb? Maybe something "New" and innovative instead of just a longer, taller or slightly different coaster? • Is there no way to put area appropriate games in the "themed" areas of the park? Why even have themed areas anymore when there is an NBA basketball shooting hoops game in what should be a frontier "river town" I know CF doesnt do themeing, but maybe the new leadership has some ideas from his old place of employement? • Why not play country or blugrass music in this area? It could even be "new" country - just something that fits the area better. OVERALL EXPERIENCE • It really annoys me when the ride ops have personal conversations over the headsets (and the speakers) while waiting to load the ride. I dont care what they did last night, and I dont want to hear about it over the speakers. I think its unprofessional. • There are concrete footers everywhere where elements have been removed. These footers just look sloppy and makes you wonder what cool elements might have been there before they got ripped out. If CF is never going to put some of this themeing or other elements there - at least get rid of the "evidence". Again, it just looks lazy. I could go on, but I know this is all pointless, since I guess I have different expectations for the in-park experience that the management has identified as its core customer. I just get frustrated when I see so many things that aren't being cared for or maintained, and you are spending 24 million an a new (I sure many will like it) ride. The irony of this is that if you say "thrills connect" they really dont, since my 8 and 5 year old cant ride some of the rides. My poor 5 yo want to ride everything, and she cant even ride the white water raft ride that she rode endlessly at Dollywood. As I said, we have come a lot, and spent a lot this season, yet most of the times we come, my wife and I spend most of the time apart with our two kids since she cant "connect" on many of the rides. It seems like real "family" experiences are missing, yet we are spending 24 million to put in yet another coaster that "breaks records" but isnt even a new or innovative experience as suspended coasters have been around for years. I want to really love the park. I really want to "show it off" to my out of town friends. I want to see a park that really takes pride in itself, but right now, I don't see that. Thanks for listening. I hope to see some "improvements" next season.

In customer service - especially when you have been given by the specific contact their email address to send them correspondence, it is good guest relations to at least acknowledge the receipt of the letter. I don't expect a personalized bullet pointed action plan of how they will be implementing all my grand ideas with budget amounts, I think it is "good face" to at least respond with a "thanks for your thoughts" letter. It seems to show what stock they place in feedback. I also realize they are busy with haunt prep, but I highly doubt the person who I sent the email to is stringing cobwebs each day. Email transmits immediately so there really isn't "lag time" is transit. Also the letter addressed a lot more than simply starlight spectacular. In my business, if a guest brought up valid complaints and mentioned preferring instead to purchase a season pass to a park several hours away - potentially loosing revenue of food, concessions, good will and positive word of mouth, I wouldn't let it sit for 12 (now) days without even a form response.

11 days and counting with no acknowledgement of the letter I sent. I love the commitment to great guest service!

I like that this thread about Starlight has opened up a pandoras box of the shortcomings of CF to maintain a theme and to create a wholistic atmosphere! Thanks for pointing out all the other observations - it goes much deeper than some Christmas Lights.

PLEASE all you guys write to KI and if you don't get a response I say we start writing to Ouimet. Thats my plan if I go another day or two without a response. You guys seem to get all that I am saying (I too have made all those observations about Festhaus - on my letter as well. Speak up and keep speaking up. CF is killing the charm and potential that they bought when they got KI. Its still not too late, but at the rate they are going its going to cost too much to get it back and we KNOW they wont do that!

Thanks for that great (awful) picture. That pretty much sums up what it looked like. Nice to see it was that way SAT night as well so it went the WHOLE holiday weekend looking like that - WOW. I just wrote a LOOOOOOONG letter about this and everything else this season that has just been embarrassing (like the festhaus clock) interesting to see what response I get. I say its time for CF to step up the game and NO installing a longer inverted is NOT stepping up the game! just more of the same.

Just because a contract ran out is not reason to let it look the way it does. I say turn the thing off and quit saying anything about it. I think if you put it on a list of "entertainment" it better be SOMEWHAT entertaining

PATHETIC - Last night - one a MAJOR holiday weekend StalightSpectacular was an unbelievable embarrassment. There was literally one bush with a string of red lights, a few red parts of stars, a floodlight or two on a tree and one color - most not even lit - of the weird zig-zag on the tower lit while music blared in the area - so it was "supposed" to be running. REALLY this is what you market in an entertainment schedule on a holiday weekend as one of your big nighttime offerings. I am quite embarrased to even call KI my home park by the way things are getting. They obviously don't care at all anymore about any of the things that can make the park a special "destination". I would write to guest services on the website, but you can only type 250 letters - guess they dont want real feedback. I think Ill write a letter to the GM and to corporate about all my observations from this entire season of fails. I live 20 min away and dont even know if I want to renew passes for next year - not just because of a few "twinkle lights" but because they seem totally stuck in the same do nothing rut I have seen for years. I know Banshee show that they are investing in the park, but I don't care that they are spending millions on a ride in a park that already has a good inventory of coasters, I just want some of that to be spent on maintaining what is already there.

If the completed attraction would only be half as cool as the teaser video or the announcement then we would really have something. I have NO faith that there will be any compelling theming or "mood" to this ride. I really don't even know why we are worrying about a theme or a name when we have seen how Cedar Fair does not deliver on any theming (Tomb Raider anyone?) I think we should just call it "That new big purple ride" since that is what it will really be. If the Action Zone was going to be reimagined into something I think we wouldnt see the ride flying over a concrete landing pad (with no water tower) as we see in the video. If there were anywhere near the trees and foliage seen in the video the ride would have a chance at a "theme" but since they seem to clear cut any ride path, I dont see that happening either. I am not impressed at all with Cedar Fair's attempts at thumbing (Diamondback Que line) and think we should just give up on any themed areas, themed rides or themed names and just have a park full of random rides since that seems to be what they are going for anyway.

I think the show is fine for HAUNT but not the best use of the entertainment dept dolars for a main season show. I think its inappropriate for young kids and should possibly have a PG note for parents. I dont think its anything you wouldnt see in a PG movie, but its disappointing that its one of the MAIN STAGE shows for the whole season. I would rather see something that is better use of the theatre - move this to a smaller venue in the Coney section - thematically (LIKE Kings Island CARES ABOUT THAT) it fits better