benny1388

We didn't need anything other than the printout from the site. We received three of ours as a gift and then (after he got over his fear of coasters) we bought my stepson's pass online. When we went before opening day, there was literally no line. We drove 90min to get there, expecting to have to spend about an hour picking up the pass. Sadly, it was before opening day so we couldn't go kill time in the park lol. When we went back on Friday May 8th to pick up my stepson's there was a long line, but it moved quick (maybe 30min from entering the line to having his pass). We didn't need to show any ID for him or us, just the print out. They took his photo, he wrote his name on the back of the card and we went to the park.

My better half and I were talking about the fountains on our last visit and we both agreed that the pedestals (or whatever you'd call them) on the center line of the pool have a very 70's look to them and could stand for an update. I've said here before that I think a Bellagio-style fountain show would be an amazing addition to the park. Granted, it wouldn't be on the same scale as the Bellagio lake is many times bigger than the fountains at KI, but the concept would still work and, I think, be a unique attraction for guests to take in.

I was, I'm guessing, 5 or so on my first visit to KI...maybe younger. In the decades since then I've lost the memory of my first visit/experience. Some of my earliest memories, though, are riding the 'big' log ride with my cousins, waiting on my family to ride The Beast (seriously, those 4min in kiddie jail seemed an eternity), and The Racers being the pinnacle of my coaster world.

I agree. It's something along the lines of what Clint Eastwood said after the infamous chair speech when a reporter asked him how he felt about the reaction it got. He said something along the lines of, "When you get to be my age you stop giving a %#&^ what other people think about you." Sums up my view, precisely, and I'm nowhere near his age.

I have a friend who rides roller coasters, but both he and his wife very much dislike The Beast because of its roughness. I asked them where they sat and they said "on the ride". After I explained that different locations on the train provide completely different experiences, they thought that was silly and that it shouldn't matter. They are both very intelligent people, so I wonder if we coaster fanatics are the only ones that understand that different seats provide different experiences?

While in line for The Beast, my stepson asked what was up with all of the structures (the mining camp facade where water used to flow through troughs). I explained that everything below where we were standing and below the turnaround coming out of the station used to be a lake and that it was there to add to the 'story' of the miners going into the hills and not coming back, or encountering the 'thing' they referred to as The Beast yada yada blah blah. When he asked why they drained it, I said I wasn't sure, but that it was probably something along the lines of people throwing trash into it, mosquitoes, general upkeep/sanitation. The person in line in front of us said they drained it because the station was sinking. I guess that's possible, and I'm not a structural engineer, but i would think if it was going to sink it would have started long before they drained the lake. Also, as archaic as the 70s were (joking), I thought even then people knew how to build structures in/around water to prevent sinking from happening. (By the way, anybody know if that sign is still there, I didn't see it when we were there last, but I didn't exactly look for it).

^ I get that it's potentially an effort to make sure everybody gets one last ride (maybe two) in before closing (or even if the wait is very long) and I'm actually fine with that. I feel like I'm repeating myself from earlier posts, but what I'm not ok with is not being given the option to wait longer for front row when the total wait is ~15min and having my group of separated and forced onto different trains because of some arbitrary goal to turn around a train within a certain time.

The problem with The Bat, for me, is that with no people in line it takes three times longer (if not more) to walk to the ride as the ride itself takes.

I know people say folks from the park read these forums...I really hope they're reading this and understand the frustrations of their guests/customers.

While I often do deal with it, I often stop visiting (and spending money) where I'm repeatedly treated this disrespectfully and rudely. I know the revenue lost from my four gold passes would be a drop in the ocean, but it's my drop and I get to decide to to keep it or let it be a part of the ocean.

I'm more curious if this is the ride operators taking it upon themselves to be 'star performers' or if it's pressure from above. Regardless, I plan to express my unhappiness about it to guest services (is that the correct place to go?) over the practice next time I witness it. edit: I noticed there's a 'contact us' section of the mobile app. I may just use that if I feel the need to lodge a complaint.

There was a crew or two Friday and Saturday that were directing people to empty rows and basically disregarding the riders' desire for a particular row. On the other topics of being a single rider...you have as much right to queue for the front as you do for the middle or the back no matter if you're solo or a pair, or four (depending on the ride, of course). If anybody doesn't like it, that's their problem. With at least one train stacking on almost every ride, you've "delayed" their ride by maybe 90 seconds, tops.

That, I fully agree with. Like I said, had it been his little brother, there's NO WAY we would have stood for it.

I'm good at pitching fits. It's a family trait. As far as him being with us for a reason, it's not for any safety reason. He's 14 and relatively independent, if he had a friend on the trip with us, he probably wouldn't have been with us at that moment. That's why we let it slide.

That is so unacceptable that there are no words. It is NEVER okay to split a child from their parents. You handled it with far more grace than I, or many others, would have. And there is also really no reason to deny seat requests unless that row is legitimately full or you have nowhere to put them. This was the case at Mystery Mine. With only two rows, and well over half of the riders wanting the front row, there was no way to grant seat requests. We simply had nowhere to put them as our corrals were only big enough to hold four people at a time. And it's not like it was that big of a deal with only two rows. Come back later, you've got a 50/50 shot of getting the row you want. Had it been the youngest, and not the oldest, he would have freaked out (he's a newbie to coasters). From what I saw of that crew, I firmly believe they would have gone ahead and run the train with him freaking out (because I don't think they would have noticed, honestly). He's old enough to take care of himself, so we just let it slide.

I wish someone would tell that crew running Banshee there's no reason to deny seat requests. Like I said in a previous post, I would understand if there was an extended wait and they were just trying to make sure people waiting got one last ride in, but this wasn't the case at all. We rode twice, back-to-back, because the wait was so short (partly due to the crew, granted) and we were hoping that we'd get front on the luck of the draw. Even on Saturday as a group of 4 (aka a full row), all chutes were empty and we were not allowed to pick our row - no matching/paring was necessary. Maybe I just don't get it having never worked as a ride operator. I have been going to parks and riding rides for as long as I can remember and this weekend was the first time I have ever been told by park employee I didn't have the option to wait longer for a front row seat. Why is there a longer chute for people to queue in if the ride ops aren't going to allow people the option? This is also the first time my group has been separated by a park employee on a ride in any park. They didn't ask, either, they rushed us through and my stepson was strapped in and his mom and I were told to go back through the gate and wait for the next train (he rode with two empty seats next to him). I am willing to overlook this past weekend's events as a fluke. However, I will not be a happy customer and will complain to guest services at every occurrence (within reason) in the future if my family and I are not permitted to enjoy the rides (or, rather, have our method of enjoyment dictated to us by ride operators). I know that could sound entitled, but I don't visit an amusement park to not be amused...

I think you're looking for this: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/student-youth-programs/youth-programs

I just wish they were able to update them more quickly...or at least have them somewhat close to accurate. For example, I've never ridden a Drop Tower. I want to, but not so bad that I'm going to wait in a long line for one. We stopped by the new interactive map by by the Eiffel Tower (please add more of these map kiosks to the park, btw), saw a 'no wait' for the tower and decided to hit it up before we grabbed lunch. We walked over to the ride, the sign out front was showing little/no wait, but the turnstyles were full and it looked to be what I guessed was an hour wait. While I love having wait time advertised, and can't wait for it to get to the mobile app, if it's not at least close to reality, it's useless.

Welcome to KIC! I don't know if it's a choice they're making, honestly. It seems the outbound train isn't finished loading and there's one waiting to enter the station to unload. I've seen a handful of times (on just 3 visits to the park so far) people unable to secure their restraints and have to exit the ride. Something like this can begin a snowball effect, and I'm sure being the beginning of the season is a factor as well. I've seen two trains waiting on Diamondback, Banshee and Vortex (and they were sending trains with 5 riders total) while the third train is still loading.

It's on my list of places to try. They didn't have any rooms that fit our needs when I was booking for this last trip (was sorta last minute).

Honestly, that's a good comparison to how it felt for us Friday. When we entered the station we were asked how many (3), rushed to a gate (which was already open), rushed to get into seats, only two of us were sent back through the gate because restraints on two of the seats had already been secured. So, this practice split our group up. It was just by one train/ride, but had that been the 12 yr old (who is a new coaster rider) and not the 14 yr old...it could have been a very bad experience for him, and potentially his mom and me having to deal with the fallout of it.

I will have to try that position on Beast. We did back row for the first time (at least in memory) and aside from the first hill - not a fan. I will try 7-1 on Vortex, but so far I think my favorite seat is 1-1.

We saw this in practice both on Friday evening and Sunday afternoon (it was the same crew, or many of them same crew). On Friday evening they were cycling trains in under 20 seconds. While that is impressive, and does greatly reduce wait time, it also (potentially) reduces rider safety as something may get missed in the rush, and they were not allowing us to pick seats. I could understand if there was a long wait and they just needed to fill trains to get people through the line, but it was 15-20 minutes. To me, this is an abuse of the 'preferred seating not guaranteed' sign they have posted just so the crew can cycle trains faster for no real apparent reason to the guests. This actually makes me want to ride it less. I'm assuming (literally, pure conjecture) there is some recognition, maybe just bragging rights, among ride operators for how many they can cycle per hour etc. That's all fine and good, but as park employees their primary concerns should be guest/rider safety and guest/rider enjoyment. If you cycle 10 less trains per hour, but have happier riders - you win, even if you're not outperforming other rides.

Microtel was, basically, as advertised and matched up with reviews I'd seen online at various travel-related sites. It was not posh or fancy by any stretch. In fact, it was minimal by typical hotel standards, but what should one expect for $76 for a Friday night stay (the rate via hotels.com). For example, I'm accustomed to there being a small bottle of shampoo and (usually) conditioner. Nothing great, but something a guest can use to get by. There was soap. Maybe I'm spoiled by tending to stay in higher end hotels (in Vegas - Wynn, Venetian etc) when I'm on vacation. I do not consider this sort of stay a 'vacation' - it's a way to skew the drive time to park time ratio more favorably (we have a 90+ min drive to the park). They do allow pets. This isn't a deal breaker for us, but I know it is for some. We do a check of every hotel room we stay in for signs of bed bugs before we even bring our bags in from the car. There were no signs here. The room was clean and functional and provided what we needed - a place to shower and crash after an afternoon in the park and be ready to return to the park in the morning. Would I stay again? Yes Did I feel it was a fair price? Yes Was I "wow'ed" by the value? No Was it clean? Yes Was it functional? Yes Will I try other places? Certainly, I will shop around until I find what I feel is my 'go to' hotel for a one night stay near the park. This one is a candidate, though.

I will be there this evening. Planning on leaving the Cbus area around 4:30-5:00