Tr0y

Not sure if this a jab at a former employer, or just a word of advice: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/matt-ouimet-42387521b_over-the-years-i-have-watched-several-talented-activity-7320043780886208512-z6n2

There were changes made to the menu for 2025, with a few things returning. Here is the 2024 Food & Wine Festival menu for comparison: https://web.archive.org/web/20240526034810/https://qr1.be/JLZ1 The new options on the menu seem more appealing than last year. Although I’m not sure if the menu changes will be enough if every tasting is haphazardly placed into a boat. Sea-world and Disney at least attempt to make their tastings presentable for their respective Food and Wine Festivals: Seaworld: Disney:

I started the day driving by a very much closed Kings Dominion and made the hour trip down south to Busch Gardens. Busch Gardens Williamsburg is also celebrating their 50th birthday. There was references around the park making it known that it was the parks 50th with photos of the park over the years. Unlike KD which for their 50th they stuck a banner on the main gate out front. The park was clean, and the landscaping was that of the level Disney would do. Everything was operating with the exception of Big Bad Wolf, Busch Gardens Railway and Verbolten. Some of the rides were celebrating birthdays and had AI generated placards like KI. However KI’s had a brief history of the ride on their placards. I got to ride The Lochness Monster for the first time since being refurbished. There is theming improvements for the coaster throughout. Because of it being a weekday the food and wine festival was not going on. Because of the short operating hours for the day, I opted to just have myself a brew at Gogran’s Pub. Overall I had a good time at the park. I’ll definitely be back to ride Big Bag Wolf’s Revenge

Does anyone have photos of said activity going on in the crypt building? Maybe someone here can get some photos of the backside of the building from The Beast plaza. I’ve heard they use a portion of the building for storage.

Started the trip by setting up camp at Kings Dominion Camp Wilderness. The campground and facilities were clean and the staff were friendly. They upgraded me to a deluxe site which included electricity as well as a camp site light which was nice. First day I spent at KD and immediately greeted at the front gate with banners commemorating the parks 50th birthday. However, that was the extent of the birthday decor going on at the park. The Eiffel Tower had no banners or decor to commemorate the parks birthday or itself for that matter. They didn’t even bother to place the “AI generated” birthday signs next to rides that were celebrating their birthday within the park. One of which was Racer 75, which turned 50. No subsequent merch for Racer 75’s 50th either. I got to experience the VIP lounge at KD and WOW, what a lounge. It’s everything one would expect for a VIP lounge. Comfy furniture, plenty of TV’s, Air conditioning and it’s nestled away from the hustle and bustle of the park with a nice view of the pond which is very relaxing. This alone would totally be worth the upgrade to Prestige if King’s Island had something similar. Other than that, Pantherian was not operating and the subsequent area was blocked off. I got to ride Rapterra a bunch. It was well themed, and had a good pace. A good addition for KD. When it comes to food at KD you really can’t go wrong but if I had to pick a favorite, Grain & Grill would be my choice. photo credit: @DonHelbig

A log flume in The Vortex plot would be a nice addition.

Kings Dominion had Silver Dolly City merch on sale in their emporium maybe KI can do the same.

Just visited Six Flags America for the first time today. Its reputation precedes itself and I was not impressed. Only 4 of the coasters operating in the 5 hours I was there. The staff were friendly but seemed poorly trained. Some of the rides had standing water in the station or in the exit paths that were so deep you had to jump over it. I was advised not to get any food during my visit and I settled on eating a heavy breakfast and a snack while at the park. They had no custard available at Rita’s so I got a milkshake at Johnny Rockets. The milkshake I ordered didn’t even fill the cup. Honestly I view this park being closed and sold for redevelopment as an act of mercy from Zimmerman by putting this place out of its misery. A park that in its heyday had potential but was ran so poorly that it cannot be saved.

I just rode Rapterra for the first time today. The ride has the B&M “shakes” at least from the outer seat in the back row on both sides. The launch is great and the ride paces well.The theming and landscaping is really done well. The only quirk is in order to get into the Fast Lane line you start out in the regular line:

Adorable as it is predictable: https://www.facebook.com/events/557456936766693/permalink/708708928308159/?

"Canada's Wonderland has entered the chat."

There are many bars to choose from at KD if you’re looking to blackout. I would avoid the premade mixed drinks, those tend to be light on the booze.

KI is slammed, meanwhile at Magic Kingdom…

Tried the new Chicken Tender Sliders at Planet Snoopy Grill. The sliders were good. They came with a generous portion of tots that were cooked to perfection. Only negative was that they were a little heavy handed on the salting of the tots.

I’m all for having more indoor options around the park. Maybe they can enclose the seating area at Chicken Shack like KD did for Hungry Hippo, and add a bar to it: https://www.instagram.com/p/DIO53P3STun/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I wouldn’t say Kings Island has “Peaked” per se. You can argue there were better seasons than others depending on what you value. Food, atmosphere, ride additions, etc. I agree that the park has tightened the belt in some areas. But I don’t view it in a sense that our season passes have been “devalued.” If anything, the park has decreased the quality of in park experiences to keep passes cheap. A Kings Island Gold pass is $145. If you compare them to their competitors and they are one of the cheapest around. As far as where I see KI in 10 years will somewhat depend on who the GM is. Six Flags can go bankrupt tomorrow, and KI will still be chugging along. I’m certain Herschend or United Parks would love to get their hands on a park like KI.

Kings Island is hosting a Mother’s Day Brunch event: https://cf-ki.store.cffunki.com/packageList/promocode/motherbrunch?utm_source=park_facebook&utm_medium=social%20&utm_campaign=mothers_day_brunch&_cid=1454421321.1742345509

Some hopefuls (wishlist) with the future events is better tasting offerings. Maybe less fried food and more of a Chef’s plate style of tasting. Here is what a comparatively priced tasting looks like at Disney: Also after hours ticketed events would be nice.

Trim-less Beast rides and one side of The Racer turned backwards.

I thought KI made improvements last year in the culinary experience although there is always room for improvement. The park is fine with offering tenders at every location. Again it adds convenience for parents. Jeff Ruby offers chicken tenders on their menu, and that’s a high end restaurant: https://www.jeffruby.com/menu/cincinnati-kids-menu With that said, It hurts to see Chef Perez showcase a smoker with some mouthwatering looking brisket inside. Which takes hours to cook, only to be chopped up into cubes and covered with BBQ sauce (burnt ends). I’d wish they’d just pull it from the smoker, trim it and slice (no sauce). https://www.facebook.com/visitkingsisland/videos/kings-island-first-coney-bar-b-que-bites-of-2025/1773647226545755/

KD chose the black walled “mystery box” for its FoF queue:

Almost all of the restaurants at the park sell tenders so families with picky eaters (kids) can eat together. Last season Coney BBQ would at times have Ribs on the menu in lieu of Burnt ends.

It’s literally how they assemble your food at skyline. The only difference is the customer is not on the other side of the counter.

I don’t think there is a “need” for a second skyline. However current skyline needs a remodel in order to make it more efficient. The cashiers tend to take on more orders than the kitchen can handle. Factor in that Skyline is often customized ie: with or without beans, onions, and or mustard. It becomes easy for an order to be messed up and food be sent back. Which really bogs down the kitchen. They need to switch the current setup to something more of the lines of Enrique’s. Where you pick your options as you go then check out. That way the kitchen is being overrun by orders, and orders aren’t being sent back.

Great news! The Beast WILL be ready on opening day. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/167A54GUmP/?mibextid=wwXIfr