BeeastFarmer

I think y'all are putting the cart before the horse. Typically, a new leader comes in and evaluates things before cleaning house. Not knowing Six Flags timeline on these realignments, I wouldn't assume that park level positions are changed much before the end of the year. Many parks still have winter events yet to go. Use them and then reassign, terminate or let attrition happen.

I thought they moved The Sweet Spot from merch to food when they redid it a couple years ago?

Ummm... planning would suggest that they can look at a calendar and make an operating schedule. And Kings Island is spending money that they got from my pass with the contractor. So they should dictate the terms of the contract. There is a lot of prep work they can do for Snow Flake Lake without turning off the Royal Fountain. We see it all the time. I mean , Sunday night drain it, Monday morning winterize it and then hand it over. I think they do this just to make their most loyal customers mad. It's so crooked and unethical. Don't even get me started on how they don't have enough Christmas trees at the park. Ever since the current version of WinterFest is on they just don't care about trees. It's ugly.

The amount of time they turn it off is not relevant. The fact that I paid good money for my pass and I can't get what I want, and they don't have anywhere in the terms and conditions that they can just turn it off willy nilly is unethical. For WinterFest it's a repurposed fountain so that's ok. But for them to drain it for THEIR convenience when I have a pass is just wrong. Plus it looks tacky.

Well I am happy for you, but what about those who paid for their pass and did not get to see it? I demand that they turn it back on for the upcoming weekend. They can't blame staffing and nowhere does it say that The Royal Fountain is subject to availability.

I am bitter. Bitter like the taste of the carbonated water that comes out of the refill station in Rivertown when they run out of ice and syrup. They have my money already. It's not right that they can just turn off the Royal Fountain before the season is over. It's tacky and unethical. Six Flags is an unethical company.

So it appears The Royal Fountain is done for 2024. I paid for my Gold Pass with All Park Passport. At Kings Island, The Royal Fountain is part of the experience. I have been robbed and therefore cheated. I did call Guest Services and there was no answer. Kings Island did not communicate this to me when I bought my pass .

@BB1 and @johnjniehaus...tell us how you really feel! These posts do bring up great points. Do better KI. Do better Mike. Do better supervisors of drink and and F/B. It's not that hard to communicate which locations have hot chocolate and coffee and which don't. When we come to accept mediocrity like this, the park will accept that as a norm. Instead of being the best One Team they can be, they become Multiple Scattered Teams who don't communicate with each other. After all, people buy and show up in droves and KI makes money, so why would they care about slipping Cornerstone values. If pass and per cap numbers decline, maybe they would care NOTE: this post is in no way directed at the parks communication team, unless they are boots on the ground with drink plan communication and implementation. Constant bashing of that team, warranted or unwarranted is tiresome and akin to the current political climate. I was outspoken in my criticism earlier, but I can't change anything so there's no use in joining in on that battle.

Do you think this has anything to do with the change in park leadership or corporate budget cuts over the last few years?

Looks like somebody has been "rubbing" a lot on that chair.

@SonofBaconator, I'm going to sell this one. Cedar Fair paid too much for the Six Flags name/brand and I don't think they want their investment to get watered down. ( Yes, I know, merger of equals and all, but the reality is that Cedar Fair is pretty much in charge. @johnjniehaus I'm going to buy this. Most all of Action Zone could be targets. I'd guess the water park could be targeted as well as Snoopy.. Buy or sell ...HFE will figure out what to do with Kentucky Kingdom and make it more successful than it has ever been.

^ Good point about Dollywood, I was referring to Kentucky Kingdom Theme and Water Park.

And Great Adventure is on the horizon as well. (Side note...in the best of all possible worlds, the Six Flags parks could be brought up to (former) Cedar Fair standards, hopefully before all the budget cuts) Orion-family friendly...I believe this was in @KIghostguy's book..Kings Island: A Ride Through Time.

It will be interesting to see what happens. I'd say everything is up in the air with all the realignment going on in the merged company. Perhaps Six Flags Kings Island wants to reel in business from the Koch and Herschend families and make ki a thrill capitol. Perhaps Mike K retires, is reassigned to another park, or is let go. Would the family park focus go away with him? Kings Island is now competing with several other "flagship" parks in the chain.

I mean, Orion is designed a family friendly coaster pet the GM/VP. Haunt is family friendly. Everything he has done in recent years, besides all of this years bars, is family friendly.

The current President and GM of KI has a stated goal of making KI family friendly. I don't know that a 10 inversion coaster would be seen as such in the eyes of the current administration.

This would also be true of the discussion about SOB. It would be akin to building a new ride named SOB but it's by The Gravity Group. It's a family wooden coaster in The Vortex plot. If you took Mystic Timbers and Kentucky Flyer combined and divided by half, that would be about the size of it.

Flying Bengal?

Does it suck that a people eater is down on a busy day? Yes. But it is what it is. Why should the park make a big deal out of it? For years, I never saw much if anything if The Beast was down for a day, or if the parade characters were going to not dress in costume because of the threat of summer rain. In a like manner, when I went to Camden Park last year Big Dipper was down. Disappointed that I didn't know, but glad I could enjoy everything else. Same with BGW. Tempesto and pantheon down. Just a sign at the rides. My point being...rides go down. As enthusiasts, we are passionate and want to know why etc. But I don't think it's an injustice if the park doesn't have the Royal Court of KI blow from the trumpets on the news station and social media that a ride is down for either a day, right now etc. An extended closure like TT2, sure.

Does CP have the same sort of people with attachment syndrome that KI does with roller coaster memorabilia? Or could it be that since the ride still exists, there is not an urgency to buy a piece that is, in reality, a piece of scrap? (I realize the same could be said of The Vortex, but that just feels wrong and dirty)

Massive renovations for Music in the Parks and Spirit Song!

I agree, but look at what happened when Salim attempted to raise prices. Cheap passes have been the model for a while and until they either change that model, or passholders drop off in significant numbers, they will continue. Usually, inexpensive things go well with my budget, but I really wish they would phase in a $200-$250 price target for a gold pass.

Haunt has devolved into a family event since about 2017. No Boo necklaces, high passholder percentage, fighting kids and young adults. The park must see a financial advantage to attract families and dissuade the fighters as well as less drama to deal with. People still show up in droves, and in years past, vote it a top event in USA Today polls, as much as they can be trusted as relevant.

You might want to be cautious! Saying anything negative about Six Flags may cause you to be canceled from media day events.

They rolled out the Premium drink plan in 2023 for 2024. By the end of December, they knew the amount they could forecast for 2024. They were woefully unprepared for the Icee roll out. That was either a willfull lack of budgeting sense or ineptitude. Six Flags and KI do have some pretty intelligent folks, so I doubt it was ineptitude. It speaks volumes that they build a bar in a week or two (The French Corner Reverie) but they cant complete a straight forward drink stand by The (Sysco) Chicken Shack