Skyrider

I have seen ED SHEERAN in concert three times and he is an awesome performer/artist. If you ever have a chance to see him in concert I wouldn't pass on it as you will love it. SING!

Bring back a version of Winterfest please!

I think a holiday version of Charlie Brown's Christmas would be an excellent idea for the dinner theatre in the Festhaus. I still like the idea of inviting high school and church choirs to perform in the regular indoor theatre when you first enter the park. This could be offered earlier in the afternoon to attract large crowds to the park ($$$) wanting to see their choir group perform. Maybe local guy Nick Lachey could be the host like he has been on the television show, I think it was called Clash of the Choirs. Remember we were a host city recently for the Choir Games which was an international event for choirs and was so popular they want to bring it back to Cincinnati. Cirque Imagine then could have a few night shows in the same theatre possibly. It would be neat if the La Rosas on International Street could move above the main entrance to the restaurant that use to be open when I was a kid. They could offer some other dishes besides pizza like spaghetti dinners and it would offer a great view of the lights on International Street. Having Winterfest open in limited areas of the park with a good balance of indoor and outdoor activities, while attracting large groups to come to the park should make it a very profitable event for the park. Plus the new larger Starbucks is an added bonus that would make big amounts of $$$ on winter days and evenings.

Does someone need to change their name to Scrooge?

I do hope that Winterfest does come in the next year or so. As many have said Festival of Lights attracts huge crowds and they do not have any coasters or huge rides to speak of---still lots and lots of people go. Many people I believe would come from Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, and Kentucky just to ice skate on the fountain, eat some treats, and see some entertainment at a fair admission price. It would also give an opportunity to sell season passes for the regular season. The idea of confining the event mainly to International Street would allow the transition from the Haunt to Winterfest go pretty quickly in my opinion--not taking weeks. Kings Island does have staff that works off season and more could be hired if necessary if they needed to. The Haunt teardown is not that extensive on International Street and lights could start to go up in the trees before the Haunt was even over during Monday through Thursday-just not turned them on of course. Once the set-up for Winterfest is done the focus on the rest of the park for taking down Haunt could happen. (if someone works for KI off season and could chime in on Haunt teardown and how long it takes on International Street please comment). Remember the indoor haunt attractions just stay up so it would be the mazes and colored light bulb changes which could happen closer to April when the regular season starts if they really needed to wait that long--but highly doubt. We have to realize too that not everyone is a roller coaster enthusiast and it would be an event for all ages. I do think it could be very profitable (look at other amusement parks that have Holiday events). Any amusement park that can stay open almost year round has a huge opportunity to make a lot of money and is great for the local economy. Great Wolf Lodge and other hotels in the area would also benefit from an attraction such as a smaller sized Winterfest.

Now that the regular season is over it gets me thinking about Winterfest. What are your ideas to help bring it back? My idea is to have a smaller event but still plenty to do while still making it very profitable for Cedar Fair. Here are my wishes and ideas: Have only smaller areas of the park open-- on and near International Street only--- decorated in lights including the Eiffel Tower, decorated of course as a gigantic tree again. Make the fountains open for ice skating again by offering a pass to buy for the Wintefest event or pay each time with the option for skate rental at a cost or use your own skates. The Festhaus could offer an optional dinner theatre Holiday show. It would be a paid offering that you could reserve ahead on visitkingsisland.com or at the park if seats are still available. The restaurant above the entrance could also be an offering for those that did not want to do the dinner show and only offered at night when the lights on International Street would be at there best. Local high school and elementary choirs could be invited to perform in the theatre that Cirque Imagine was in and would bring a lot of families out to see their local school perform (Q102 even has a competition each year and maybe they could be a sponsor and have the top groups perform or compete). Skyline could be open for a more casual less expensive option that is inside and the new Starbuck on International Street would be open as well, and also the new improved sweet shop. Maybe the new yogurt place would offer Funnel Cakes and Cinnabon instead or some other holiday type foods. La Rosa's could be open (possibly Greater's location as a sitting area) or if one of the nearby shops could be open for a sitting area or a heated tent maybe with tables and chairs. I was thinking the Winterfest event would only be open Friday nights, Saturdays, and Sundays (like in the fall season). Parking would be free and admission would be free for season pass holders and a low cost like maybe $5 for kids and up to $10 per adult for non-season pass holders since money would be made on skating, the shops, dinner show, and restaurants that were open. It would not require the regular amount of employees as a full blown Winterfest and would be very profitable in my opinion because it would be really popular and have the best of Winterfest past. I know that they need time to take down the Haunt and put up the lights and decorations but I would think it would be doable and could open starting mid November or Thanksgiving Weekend. It would be a lower cost alternative to former attempt to bring Winterfest back. I wish Winterfest would come back in some form and with the new love they are giving International Street it would be great to offer this next winter in 2015. What ideas do you have for a new brought back Winterfest? I would like to know your thought on my ideas too. Hoping someone at Kings Island will see this post and think about how Winterfest could come back in the winter of 2015. With all the new love happening for next year on International Street it would be a great way to make some money off season while bringing a really missed local Holiday attraction back to Kings Island.

I figured out that if you eat at least six meals over the course of the season that you break even. Most of the meals are around $14 normally but that might be with a drink (not sure). I definitely received my monies worth, but I live very close to KI and sometimes would go up to KI just to eat a meal and go on a ride or two. It was a great savings for me and was so glad to see them offer it again next season. I might have only ate two meals in the same day once so the new 4 hour wait really won't effect me too much.

Killmart has really stepped it up as the season has progressed. Just wish they would step up Delta Delta Die or get a new theme next year. How about a dollhouse theme instead? Where the dolls come to life each room is a different room of the dollhouse. This could be really creepy if done right.

If eating outside the park there are many options right outside the park that are inexpensive compared to the prices inside the park (Taco Bell, McDonalds, Dairy Queen, and the new relocated Wendy's that moved near McDonalds that use to be by The Beach Waterpark. Down the road other options are Skyline Chili, Arby's, and Burger King. Friday night you cannot re-enter the park so eat before you go and on Saturday make sure to re-enter before The Haunt starts as others have already said.

It is always interesting to me how they know that hands on is a great teaching tool to use but when it comes to high stake tests the students are not allowed to use them. Also students that have Individual Education Plans (IEPs) are often expected to take the exact same assessment as students that are not on IEPs. Is this fair to the student and fair to evaluate the teacher on these test results? Two years from now they expect 100% of the students to pass these high stake tests--sometimes it seems like they think students are robots that can be programmed with knowledge. All of the worlds problems will be fixed by then I suppose, that have an affect on a child's education and their readiness to learn---I am all for accountability but 100% of the students--if not lets point our finger at the teacher. Poverty, truancy, and transient students (breaking up continuity in their educational program) all have negative affects on a child's education and teachers cannot control these factors.

As an educator myself I appreciate the high regard that most of you have for teachers. I wish politicians would consult educators more often and get feedback from education professionals on the real issues before deciding on legislation regarding education matters. My personal opinion is that if we would intensify supports for a child in the beginning of their schooling that in the long run we would spent less money on education overall. When building a house don't you want the strongest foundation? Not that students are buildings, but they need a strong foundation to be more successful in the rigors of school. Schools can then make sure to intervene early on for students that are below grade level in reading and math. Many countries that outperform the USA focus intensively on reading and math skills in the early years. They make sure that each child can read and understand math on grade level. The common core standards was suppose to give more rigorous standards and make USA students more college ready. There is suppose to be more time to teach these more rigorous standards since there are less standards than before CC so that teachers could teach more in depth. I was lead to believe that I could teach more in depth and not have to scratch the surface on each standard, making sure students had a real mastery of the concepts. So what they did instead (politicians) is added more high stake testing throughout the year giving teachers less time to teach and expecting the students to perform better. I would personally would like to see year round school eventually with more breaks for students throughout the year instead of longer school days or added total number of days (except for student that have not shown mastery). Studies have been done about how much students lose over the long summer break--it is shocking. Have shorter cycle assessments instead of these hours long assessments and if a students hasn't mastered the concepts they would have a shorter break than other students that have mastered the concepts. It would provide motivation for the students to try their best (some students are not intrinsically motivated---especially if they do not have any successful role models in their life) and that would provide the smaller class size to provide additional interventions to those students struggling with the concepts and give them more time to learn. This idea that all students learn at the same rate is really misunderstood by many. Provide preschool for ALL students (not just the well to do and those that win a lottery to get their child in) from the local school district with very small class sizes and thus giving small student to teacher ratios. Have students demonstrate that they are ready for kindergarten and if not provide an additional year to get them ready (Kinder Ready). If we build that strong foundation from the beginning I believe we would help our students be more successful in school and in life.

I'm talking about how students are taught to the test, primarily. I really feel like students are taught "nice to know" information rather than "need to know" information. I high school graduate knows how to diagram a sentence but doesn't learn how to file taxes. They can tell you about the themes of Beowulf but now how to prevent ruining their credit history before the age of 25. College is even worse. WAY too many gen ed classes that have nothing to do with your field of study. Of course, you have to pay for each class so it works well in their favor. For the record, I think the elimination of classes such as art and music is a travesty. Those sorts of disciplines improve skills in reading and math. They enrich society in ways that other things can not. Maybe it's a society thing rather than the responsibility of the schools, but I really feel as though too many people are misplaced in what they are doing. People mistake what they perceive as "easy" for themselves having talent. It's all too often that a person who is a poet should really have been a brick layer - or even worse, a brick layer who should have been a poet. My mom is a second grade teacher. The strategy of her entire school (essentially) is lesson - seat work - lesson - seat work, etc. Simply put, she has an hour to kill for each lesson. When the lesson is done you can't simply go on to the next lesson the same day. It would be an overload. There certainly is a value in reinforcing what is taught through seat work, but I truly believe that if they added hours to the school day it would just be more of this - without the added value. I really believe that teachers should get days off like anybody else. I'm not saying they shouldn't. But let's be frank - when a sub comes into a classroom, more often than not they are given instructions to give an assignment to the class they the students must do on their own. They're often not qualified to teach the lessons. So the students are either left with an assignment that they could have done at home (sacrificing valuable interactive classroom time) or left with more seat work. When I'm talking about review time, I'm talking about relearning what you had learned the previous day/month/or even year. I'm totally in favor of the teachers having a planning period. I just think that, although there is a great deal of value in review, it happens entirely too often. I, more so than most my age, will preach the value of education. I think that teachers are incredibly underpaid and undervalued for what they do. I really just think that adding more classroom time isn't the solution. It's going to be more of the same. They need to worry about the quality of education over the quantity of hours. How can they teach things in a way that opens new doors rather than being regurgitated in an essay. Teachers, more than anyone else, can tell you how things can be improved. They know more than anyone what works and what doesn't. They key to this is investing the time and money into the experience. Use technology to your advantage, talk about current events and how they relate to your history lesson, etc. Teachers are some of the most brilliant showmen I have ever seen and if you just give then the resources to mold their students then they can make a real difference. Slapping another hour on the school day and calling it a job well done is not the answer. As an educator myself I appreciate the high regard that you have for teachers. I wish politicians would consult educators more often and get feedback from education professionals on the real issues before deciding on legislation regarding education matters. My personal opinion is that if we would intensify supports for a child in the beginning of their schooling that in the long run we would spent less money on education overall. When building a house don't you want the strongest foundation? Not that students are buildings, but they need a strong foundation to be more successful in the rigors of school. Schools can then make sure to intervene early on for students that are below grade level in reading and math. Many countries that outperform the USA focus intensively on reading and math skills in the early years. They make sure that each child can read and understand math on grade level. The common core standards was suppose to give more rigorous standards and make USA students more college read. There is suppose to be more time to teach these more rigorous standards since there are less standards than before so that teachers could teach more in depth. I was lead to believe that I could teach more in depth and not have to scratch the surface on each standard, make sure that students had a real mastery of the concepts. So what they did instead (politicians) is added more high stake testing throughout the year giving teachers less time to teach and expecting the students to perform better. I would personally would like to see year round school eventually with more breaks for students throughout the year instead of longer school days or added total number of days. Studies have been done about how much students lose over the long summer break--it is shocking. Have shorter cycle assessments instead of these hours long assessments and if a students hasn't mastered the concepts they have a shorter break than other students that have mastered the concepts. It would provide motivation for the students to try their best (some students are not intrinsically motivated---especially if they do not have any successful role models close to them) and that would provide the smaller class size to provide additional interventions to those students struggling with the concepts. Provide preschool for ALL students (not just the well to do and those that win a lottery to get their child in) from the local school district with very small class sizes and thus giving small student to teacher ratios. Have students demonstrate that they are ready for kindergarten and if not provide an additional year to get them ready (Kinder Ready). If we build that strong foundation from the beginning I believe we would help our students be more successful in school and in life.

I love going to Disney too but have never gone off season. I agree with everything you said about the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Car Ride. We had two Fast Passes for it and would never wait 2 hours for it. Nice ride but needs to be longer and an extra cave.

Went late last night a little after 11 p.m. and by 12:00 a.m. most haunted attractions were walk on. My daughter and I got a lot in by 1 a.m. and even had a chance to stop in Skyline on International Street for a late night treat. You got to love the season long meal plan.

I really feel like Killmart was retooled since the beginning of The Haunt. It is a lot better and they seemed to have added a lot more scare actors. It is a big improvement from the opening weekends of The Haunt. Now they really need to retool Delta Delta Die for next year or get a new theme that is better in my opinion.

I know that many have suggested a Villains Park if they ever did do a 5th gate. It would have many thrill rides similar to Islands of Adventure and would help to get some of the thrill seekers market.

Killmart has really improved since the first weekend of the Haunt. I went this past Saturday night and there was a group of teenage girls in back of me. Their screams were so loud I started to hold my ears. It was so funny as the scareactors just waited for them almost each and every time to jump out. Loud screams just made them the perfect target. I was laughing so hard and looking back to see when the were going to jump out next.

Thanks for explaining about how these type of courses work. You would think Dollywood would have had the insight to know these things before they built it unless getting bad information from the manufacturer. Just glad they have kept Mystery Mine, it is fun and themed very well.

It depends on what the item is and if Disney minds it being available to the public. The old iconic Disneyland sign was sold at auction, a celebrity purchased it and put it in his yard. When Disney closes a retail store at a mall the figures are destroyed. They also warehouse a ton of old items they think they might want again, and used to sell a ton of stuff to Surplus companies (no idea if they still do but the biggest stores seemed to have all gone out of business). There used to be a store near Orlando called Mouse Surplus which used to sell items from both Disney and Universal. Most of the items were from the Disney Hotels and you would find furniture from when a resort was last renovated. But they would also get items from the parks, including props, and even ride vehicles. I remember they had a monorail car, trains from space mountain etc. I think the company ended up going out of business though. I know the store closed. I was thinking Disney could have the museum or restaurant on their property and be in control of it. Over time it would be neat to see the technology and innovations the imagineers have made through the years.

Their newest coaster (I forget the name) replaced itSent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk Yes they put in the Firechaser roller coaster. It just seems weird that they spent A LOT of money on Adventure Mountain (and it was very popular) to only replace it in a few years. Are they that landlocked that they couldn't just build Firechaser roller coaster somewhere else? There has to be more to this story!

If KI is doing something more tame for 2015 something similar to Dollywood's Adventure Mountain would be nice. It was a ropes course that had different levels of difficulty and would be a nice family addition to Rivertown. Dollywood did mysteriously remove the attraction only after a couple of years although it seemed real popular so I am not sure why they removed it. If anyone knows the real story for its removal I am curious to know.

Madam Fatale's Wax Museum is also very good. Its located in the former Crypt building (or cave). Also seeing Skeleton Crew is a fun show to watch.

I heard that this time they trashed everything from SpectroMagic in dumpsters. Does anyone know if that is true? If so what a shame since it would cool if parts were in some type of Disney History Museum or themed restauarant as mentioned earlier in my post.

Yesterday was the last day for the Maelstrom ride at Epcot's Norway pavilion as Disney converts it into a Frozen attraction. I wonder what will happen to the items that will not be used in the new Frozen ride that is planned to open in early 2016. Does anyone know what happens to items from closed Disney rides? It would be neat to have a Disney museum that had pieces of the closed rides with their history or even a themed restaurant similar to Planet Hollywood where they could be put on display. I bet it would be popular and another way for Disney to make some more money like they are doing especially with all the success from Frozen. What do others think?