Stoan
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Posts posted by Stoan
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Features Kings Island 50th anniversary on the cover and places KI 17th most popular park in North America. It's an interesting read overall.
Reading through this a bit more it looks like KI was 17th in 2019 and would place slightly higher in 2022 at 16th, but with COVID still messing with numbers they didn't move it. It does like like KI is fairly consistent in their attendance though; 3.48m in 2019, 3.18m in 2021, 3.34m in 2022 (2020 doesn't really exist, but it was 1.62m)
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How in the world did you manage to visit each of these parks a day after each other with travel, and still have time in the park to actually ride things?
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On 4/12/2023 at 7:23 PM, TombRaiderFTW said:
I think the Columbus Zoo has the right idea with it. They have a slow-moving boat ride that flows through their (fantastically themed) Australia & The Islands area and the animal exhibits within. Their animatronic dinosaurs are positioned alongside the boat trough, in scenes where various things are happening. I want to say one of their dinosaurs also lightly spritzes riders?
In doing that, there is a little more of an experience to be had. Obviously Kings Island wasn't/isn't going to install animal exhibits for the sake of a temporary animatronic dinosaur upcharge, but turning it into an experience using some kind of ride vehicle (doesn't need to be elaborate) and simple theming would have made it more worthwhile to me. The simplicity of just having concrete paths, information plaques, and the dinosaur animatronics just off the path (even with the motion activation) felt to me like a bit of a cash grab. The boat ride at the Columbus Zoo isn't a must-do, but as someone who has never been a zoo member but who WAS a passholder every year Dinosaurs Alive existed, I've definitely paid more to ride the Dinosaur Island Boat Ride at the zoo since it opened than I ever paid for DA over the course of its existence.
But I'm also not a kid (the target audience of DA) and I don't have any kids, so perhaps I'm not the best judge.
A boat or a small train ride indeed. You can time the movements of the robotics to line up instead of hoping for really poorly prepared motion sensors. Honestly I was REALLY hoping the old fashion cars would use that path, would have been great.
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An entire rail system into downtown Cincinnati? Benefits the Tennis Tournament (which is leaving), the Golf Course, Kings Island and just nice for commuters
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On 6/20/2023 at 9:55 AM, Klinktown said:
Can someone post night photos of the rides?
It is called the Sol Spin, not the Luna Spin
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services and costs are a never-ending battle. "How much can we charge before people stop thinking it is worth the money for as little as we can offer" and "How little can we pay for as much benefit we can gain"
I am all for hustling to get maximum value out of a company, they are doing the same to us. But at some point it does kind of become cheating, going in and getting your meal and eating there seems to be one thing, bringing the means to save it for later doesn't seem like cheating to me unless someone else outside your group eating it.
I mean they offer it, the two meals, why shouldn't you eat it as much as possible in whatever means you decide on. Even if it isn't an issue of people "abusing" service they paid for in a way which is perfectly allowed in the way the rules are written, I wouldn't put it past some bean counters to simply start pulling back on quantity or quality or just bolstering the price just to save. They could be making money hand over fist on the meal plan for all we know, and they'd still want to milk it for more. It is up to the individual customer to adjust just as the company is.
I will say though, at the rate the food is going this year, if the price goes up again next year. I won't be renewing all the meals plans next year.
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2 hours ago, Tr0y said:
It’s hit or miss. Sometimes I get charged sometimes I don’t. I’m not sure if the park has clear guidelines for employees on the matter. I’m convinced KI has the largest base of meal plans within the CF chain, and the park is doing stuff to make up for it. Like charge additional for sauce, having cheap meats as the only entree options, and or the portions end up on the smaller side. My experiences were all vastly different between Carowinds, CP, and KD. With CP, and KD having the best food, and Carowinds being the worst.
I used to be able to swap the fries on a cheese coney meal for a 3rd coney. I asked their year, they said not on the meal plan I would have to be a paying customer to get it. Thanks
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13 hours ago, brenthodge said:
Stopped on the way home from a meeting in Columbus last night for a quick bite and 1-2 rides. Thought I’d try SolSpin since there were like 6 people in the park LOL. Even with no crowd they still managed to make load last over 20 minutes for one cycle before me that started right as I got in line?!
They need to just fill from one set point all the way around the circle instead of opening the gates and letting people wander around (makes no difference since no one is sitting next to anyone)Even if there was a “load from this point around the circle” marking on the floor. They they could easily count to 24 and cut off the line. Last night the guy kept closing the gate, waiting till people got seated, scanning and counting the empty seats, opening the gate for a few more, scanning again… etc. It only seats what it seats-individually. There’s no “maybe those two will sit together” like on other flats. Even if there were 24 marked spots in the final stretch of the queue to stand on and people could “fill in the singles” on their own. Then the whole “bin for your belongings” needs to go. It slows it down even further or moved to the entrance plaza area. They know it’s terrible capacity (Koontz even acknowledged that) so they really need to improve line management and load process better.The one time I rode I was the first person in line for my cycle, in the Fast Lane. I was the 13th person to get a seat. Somehow the barrels still manages to be worse.
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9 minutes ago, disco2000 said:
@silver2005 any comments on presentation and amount of cheese and chili?
They closed the front location, then completely forgot how to make Skyline at the other. The portions are smaller all around, and somehow they manage to take longer to make.
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It is unique in that I haven't been on those others...
Also it is a fun ride, and very quickly makes me very dizzy. The change between looking forward and "not moving" to looking to the side and "wtf I am upside down" disoriented me greatly. That said though, it is a fun ride, better than expected. And those seats are HELLA uncomfortable. I hate solid shoulder straps, makes it impossible to take deep breaths and are panic inducing.
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So far my Enhanced Pass Perks looks to be more surveys about how disappointed we are with the Prestige Pass. I've gotten 3 of them so far this year. But they did send one pass perk which according to the email was specific to the Enhanced Pass Perks.
Your latest Kings Island Pass Perks Reward We did the savings for you! Bring up to four friends for $24.99 Each.* VIP lounge access and single-use Fast Lane included! Offer expires May 31, 2023 Here's how to redeem your Enhanced pass perk: NEW for 2023! Save time and redeem online using promo code KIPRBAFLOY. Don't forget to redeem your Single-Use Fast Lane at any in-park Fast Lane location. -
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Might be worth mentioning as well, if you enjoy it like I do, the whole place smells really nice fresh cut pine
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New VIP area is nice, same kind of setup as last year. Couple of seats, few TVs, no couches this time though but some adirondack chairs instead. Interesting enough less static shade though with the trees more overall.
Still just water, though some with lemon and some with lime. Larger bags of chips again.
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The glazed pork was dry, but the sauce saved it a bit. The perogies and naan are phenomenal
Side note; what the heck is with the cheese amount from Skyline this year? It's supposed to be a mound of cheese and I'm barely getting a heavy sprinkle. I shouldn't be able to see the chili and spaghetti through the middle of the cheese.
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11 hours ago, IndyGuy4KI said:
I am disappointed that Enrique's no longer allows you to add queso on your entree (extra charge now.) That is what always gave a meal there extra flavor and pulled everything together.
Yeah sad times
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I really liked the Disney pin culture they set up, I'd like to see something similar with CParks.
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18 hours ago, medford said:
The easiest way to do that would be to install a handful of cameras in each ride (or at least the major ones) with security watching on TV. They wouldn't have to monitor all rides at once, but if you monitored say Orion for a spell, then The Beast, then Diamdonback, etc... on days that you most suspect line jumping will occur, then you have a smaller group of mobile security that will be in the area of the ride/s that are being actively monitored. Boot the few that you do catch and word will spread quick enough that they are watching and will act. Enforce it hard core for a season and it will die down significantly moving forward.
Have an NFL review style screen at the Linekeeper, and wait for the offenders to come to the front and just be all "this you? Getouttahere"
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12 hours ago, robintodd said:
It will be interesting how having only 1 Skyline is received. The Bengals just named Skyline their official chili which will add to it's popularity especially with out of town guests who are fans fo the Bengals. In my opinion if they knew Subway was going away they should have moved Tom & Chee there and used the old Chick building for another Skyline location. Maybe this is something they can do for next year if the demand is there this season. IS Skyline ALWAYS had a line especially at the end of the night. With a location at the old Chick building they could have absorbed that business in much the same way.
We'll have to wait and see.....
Like some others have posted i think the issue with reusing the chic-fil-a building is that Skyline's kitchen is usually set up cafeteria style and Chick-fil-A is not. It's a lot of remodeling for not a lot of gain. What they really need to put in this stupid mobile ordering system so they can just text me when the food is ready and set up a second pickup window.
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Surprisingly lenient honestly. I would have expected less people, possibly even "stay with" or vaguely "nearby" for the chaperone. I wonder what the policy is for if a chaperoned person gets caught out, do they kick everyone in the group out? As unfair as kids tend to find pack-ruled rules, I like them. Let the group kind of help support itself, if Karen or Kyle are going to act out, they will ruin it for everyone so don't encourage the behavior.
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3 minutes ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:
I think what he means is that the structure was there for years. The VIP structure last year was from the old ladder game.
I might just be misremembering I thought I remembered seeing the VIP tents set up in the 2021 season. Either way, it was thrown together.
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1 hour ago, jdf21972 said:
one of the big reasons I bought the PP was for VIP area. Just a place to "get away" from the crowds and relax without seeing many people in the park or people watch. I know the temp area is fine and cannot wait to see the completed permanent structure and with restaurant and drink location so close I don't care about the offerings other than a nice place to sit to relax.
Yes, the permanent structure brings small hope (but hope) that they might have a more refined set up. Even the old area seemed hastily put together even though it was there for like 2-3 years? I am perfectly happy with just asking the check-in person (which I confused so much by asking for a burger and fries when I checked in) for a bag of chips (downgrade small bags).
Again, just imagine what all could be done if they just tied more things to your passes. What about a soda machine/chip vending machine that didn't take cash but simply needed you to scan your pass and make a selection. Just so they can find out that Karen Jones for some reason is trying to eat 45 bags of Cheetos a day. Even if this leads to a small limit on how much free crap I can get out of it, as long as it keeps the stuff from just disappearing.
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11 hours ago, silver2005 said:
I usually eat at the one just outside the park or at Blue Ash Chili that's also close by
Blue Ash Chili closed the nearby spot, it is now what appears to either be Indian or Indian Chinese fusion?
But yes, the setup for Coney Mall's kitchen did get reset and does look to be a bit more in-line with standard Cincinnati Chili building. One person was running ways, and one person doing coneys. Also an expediter, fry person, and wiener chef. Everything they need to blow through a lot of people from what I saw during the rain on Sunday. Hopefully with some practice they can get an order out every 30-45 seconds or so, as I snobbishly cannot imagine any order really taking much longer than this. Though my Fast Food experience is more from Wendy's and making 20-30 Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers a minute during rush.
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I give them a month before a new guard station is set up over in the Timberwolf road
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Fury 325 Support Failure
in Other Amusement Parks & Industry News
Posted
Someone else mentioned using drones for inspections, which I agree with. I am surprised more parks haven't moved towards having a pre-programed drone flight path with a camera literally just fly the entirety of the track, giving a 10 minute video each day to the maintenance team to inspect.
If you wanna get SUPER fancy with it, add in some kind of IR/QR trackers on the track itself, use that as "checkpoints", then run through a AI algorithm to give an early alert system where it goes through every single daily video at those points and compares to see if anything at all has changed. Color differences, size differences, angles or shapes could all be assessed on the daily automatically while the engineering team does their walkthroughs and video inspections. I don't fault the maintenance team for possibly missing this IF it happened suddenly, who is going to spot that crack from all the way on the ground. But I think this crack probably started forming a while ago and it should have been spotted.
That said, I do think a programed drone would be the smart way to go. Add a LZ just outside the entrance walkway, incorporate it into the theming even, just to give a nice reminder to "hey, we are taking this safety thing serious". Heck add a little TV and show that day's video footage on a loop so people can see the whole track from a new perspective.