Magenta Lizard

I believe the only time I broke 40,000 steps was at the second Coasterstock when we had that wild scavenger hunt that took me all over the park something like three times in a half hour Like @whengodsaysgo, I tend to average about a mile an hour when I'm in the park, even though I spend time sitting in all the cirque shows while they're running. I regularly break 30,000 steps when I'm at the park from open until close.

Well, the way I see it, free blue ice cream. One doesn't have to eat it like a maniac if they are one of the chosen. On the other hand, if I am picked to compete, I do tend to get a little ridiculously competitive over silly things like this I wonder what the prizes will be, beyond bragging rights and free soft serve... eta: I tried the chips with blueberry salsa yesterday. They were pretty good, but despite having whole blueberries in the salsa I can't say the flavor of them made much impact.

These new t-shirts have logos that may look a little... familiar I bought the Coca-cola red one, myself.

What's particularly stupid about the flip-flops on Delirium is that, if the ride ops hadn't stopped the ride and retrieved them, the patron would have needed to buy new ones at the shop or leave the park. Because they definitely would have blown down under the ride.

Weird story about that from yesterday. About a quarter till 11, I was walking clockwise through the park and noticed Potato Works was open (which is a little earlier than I expected) and the Freestyles in the train station were as well! That's the first I've seen it open since very early in the season. I decided I should ride Diamondback before I got lunch, then walked back. I took advantage of the Freestyle being open before getting my food at Potato Works. It took maybe ten minutes to get through the line and get my food. When I walked back toward the front again with my food (I typically like to eat out in my truck in the parking lot) the Freestyle location was closed and was every time I went by for the rest of the day. I had noticed as I was finishing up getting my drink that the phone in the back rang and the man working the register went to answer it. I assume that was the call telling him to shut back down.

^ yeah I personally apparently have two drink plans on my pass. I only bought one, and don't know exactly how it happened, but I've had different employees tell me there are two on there often enough at this point that I have to believe it isn't them who are mistaken. I haven't used more than one in a 15 minute period and don't intend to, but I also haven't taken it to customer service because I worry something will get actually broken by any attempt to "fix" it. It is a shame that multiple dining plans /can't/ be put on a pass, because especially with children, it makes sense. I believe that it is possible to purchase multiple drink plans to put on a single pass, that it isn't only glitches that can make it happen.

Is it possible to add more than one dining plan to the same pass? It might make things easier for some parents/couples to put the plans on the same pass if one individual is usually the one getting the meals.

Just a rough estimate, I think the path you're talking about would be around two miles.

Were there two or three performers during the bar act? Glad it's back however it's back tho.

I may have to check this out finally this year. Do you happen to know if they have an extended Int'l St light show ala Greatest Show, but specially made for the 4th?

On Thursday, the young woman working the front position on FoF was asking people to "name a Disney movie, but not Cinderella, Frozen, or Moana" of people before they entered the line. FTR, I said Dumbo

He comes out at the beginning when the lady in orange calls for backup, menacing and chasing the astronauts, and I believe he helps push off the spacecraft. Basically the small segment of the show beginning when any of the performers in blue appear, leading up to the bar act, only they all run off stage at the end rather than climb to the upper platform for that act.

Yes, all three. The injured performer is back, the laser act is back, the new act is still awesome The bar act is still not back in the show, and the performer who fell isn't joining in the tumbling at the end of the show. However, for the third show he came out into the audience along with the other two in blue for the preshow. The first showing just the woman came out, and the second showing she and the other man in blue came out.

A lot of the problems at Kings Island, across the board, has to do with not having good management. Most of the employees are enthusiastic, if inexperienced, at least at the beginning of the season, but good management is needed to corral that energy into good workers, who know what they are doing. The problem with getting good management stems from the same argument I made before about why Reds had such a hard time getting and keeping good waitstaff. If you are good at waiting tables or at employee management, there are any number of places that would hire you in a heartbeat. Why would someone who could work anywhere (and likely get pretty good pay) want to work at a park where they are considered a seasonal employee, and only be able to work however many months out of the year, not to mention that they don't receive many of the benefits that are often offered with a full time full year position? There are a select few who are either devoted to Kings Island, have other employment in the off season, or are semi-retired and like to have a few months off (unpaid), or are otherwise willing to accept the drawbacks to working at a seasonal park. But to be ok with or desire at most part-time employment for a fair portion of the year and to also be good at management isn't a terribly common combination. I don't know the solution, and I know that if there is one it isn't simple. Giving commiserate benefits and salaries as they would get at a year-round job to employees that won't be working part of the year doesn't seem entirely fair to Kings Island. But expecting high performance while offering part-time level respect and benefits isn't fair to the people who do their job very well.

I don't remember things before the 80s (I was born in 76) but I remember thinking as a child that Kings Island was much older than it actually is. This was mostly influenced by the architecture and costumes in River Town and International Street, and to some extent, even Coney Mall, I assume. So much of the park has always meant to transport guests to a different time and/or place, like in the case of the former Adventure Village, that it doesn't feel "dated" in an out-of-style way. So much stuff in my life was 1970s modern when I was a kid in the 80s, that it faded to the background for me and made no impression. But thinking back, and looking at now, the only thing at the park that still really screams 1970s is the shape of that shingled front wall (and it being shingled, for that matter). They have done their best in recent years to sort of hide it, with advertising in the summer and the house at Haunt and Winterfest, but I really think that removing it and putting in either giant screens or even just a blank wall is really the only updating that building needs. Going to Holiday World for the first time recently (even though it is a great park) really made me appreciate the drama of Kings Island's entrance blocking view of the park, then stepping into a whole new fantastic world on the other side. Holiday World's entrance gate and courtyard on the other side said to me "well, you're here, I guess."

They had a strange new offering when I went yesterday, too. BBQ sauced meatballs. I wouldn't recommend them. They also appeared to have wings as well. If I could just get two or three sides instead of one side and one of the meat selections, I would probably never want to eat anywhere else in the park. None of the entrees have become a must-have for me yet.

The act on the bars was cut yesterday for the 5 and 7 shows because one of the performers had a bad fall during that act, which ended the 3:00 show. I think that the laser act was temporarily removed because they only had the time between the 3:00 and 5:00 show to figure out how to rearrange the show to deal with the missing performer. I fully expect it will be back on Thursday. Fortunately the man who fell (from the bar to the lower stage without any mat - it was horrifying to watch) seems to have suffered no permanent damage, and walked out to watch the 7:00 show from the audience. The new act is definitely cool, but especially after watching the fall yesterday, very nerve wracking.

^starting an interaction in a calm and understanding attitude usually gets you farther than starting out adversarial and yelling. Flies and honey and all that. But even if one gets an answer they don't like, it's best to take it up later at guest services than to get in the face of a near-child (usually) who is just trying to do their job as they understand it.

^I'd like to hear it on the Carousel again. Several times this season, the new lights on the front of the Band Organ were on, but they were using the recorded track rather than having the organ play.

I had no idea how much I would enjoy Sketch School before my first session. I hope this is something they try again at some point in the future. After I learned the basics, I started branching out a little with my drawings. My favorites from yesterday were surprised Snoopy (bonus Woodstock) and Scorned Sally (upset about missing Tricks or Treats) I made Pig-Pen sad but I feel bad about it

Just got hijacked on the forums by an ad Couldn't see what it was, just got the pop up that took me to another page when I hit cancel.

Even though I try to keep my luggage down to things I can fit in my cargo pockets, I can understand the need for a backpack to some degree. If one intends to spend the entire operating day at the park, often changes of clothing/alternative clothing (like jackets or pants/shorts) are necessary. Personally, I use my truck as my locker for things like this, but teens are much more likely to be simply dropped off by parents in the morning, I would think. They'd need to carry in anything they want to change during the day. Also, people who have vehicles but don't get to the park as early as I do, it can be quite a hike through the lot since there aren't trams anymore. Even though I rarely use the lockers, if there was a season long roaming locker pass, I would seriously consider it just for the convenience of not always having to hike out to the truck if I buy something or come up with extra ways to squirrel away hats and gloves on Haunt nights (where it often starts at 70 degrees and ends in the 40s) when I can't go back out to the vehicle.

I got to see the show yesterday for the first time this year. If you saw the previous incarnation of the show, it is much the same, but that isn't a bad thing. It's clear the dogs are enjoying themselves (which I definitely couldn't say about the Doberman show).

I took a progression series of pics while I learned how to draw Charlie Brown at Sketch School (I ended up attending all seven sessions yesterday, and all three Gravity shows, which involved a lot of speed-walking across the park). This should give you an idea of how they break it down and make it easy for anyone to draw a reasonably recognizable Peanuts character

Welcome to KIC! The threat of storms tomorrow should keep crowds low. Rides will stay up and running in the rain, but will close down depending on how close lightning is to the park. They are very good about getting up and running again as soon as it is safely possible, though. So if you're willing to tough out or take shelter during storms, you will be able to get in a lot of rides due to low crowds. Often, storms avoid KI entirely and those days can be the best, because it still shouldn't be crowded. If rain and storms do hit, it can be a great time to check out shows in the Festhaus or KI Theater (I highly recommend Gravity even if it isn't raining) or do a little shopping or play in the Arcade. This week also has the Charles Schulz art gallery and Sketch School going on (indoors) in Planet Snoopy. Right now, they're calling for a decent possibility of rain and storms on Wednesday as well. I also personally worry a little that the rain of the past few days is going to cause a large influx of people once the weather does turn nice again.