King's Island 10/20

[buchers]

So skjackson had a bad time, so what. Not every trip I have made to KI over the last 10 years has been enjoyable either. I agree 100% when people say it is too busy to enjoy anything. Even Friday nights are getting to be that way too! This is supposed to be a place for people to come and post their experoences at the park, weather they are good or bad. We are all entitled to our opinion and the negativity when someone poest a bad review is getting old fast.

As far as passholders whining about a possible upcharge this year goes, I agree with them because I am one of them! My pass was bought with the Halloween event listed as a perk. If they charged me an upcharge just because they changed the name I would have been highly P.O.'d! As it stands now I doubt I will be buying passes for me and my family next year because I think it sucks they will be charging passholders to get in. The event is decent but it's really no different than Fear Fest last year. A fat guy putting a nail in his nose, laying on nails, and hitting on every underage girl in the place doesn't make the event scarier, neither does "dead" teenagers singing about rehab. (In all fairness, Dead Awakening had great performers, it just wasn't my type of show)

[PKIVortex]

Yes they did do away with the animals, but does Cedar Fair have experience with Animals? Nope, that is probably why they went.

[Browntggrr]

It's not really your fault, a lot of the people on here just can't accpet any criticism of the park or the almighty Cedar Fair.

Who cares if this guy votes for amusent today, he obviously knows something about the industry and has something to do with it if hes actualy being given a ballot. I wouldn't really say hes showing off anymore than say Uncle Henry who feels the need to announce his "return" and "exodus" from KICentral cause he think's he's really that important around here.

It is too bad that skjackson had a bad time. Apparently it is not as well known that :

1) When there is good weather during these events, they get crushed as experienced is years past. On a side note: apparently CP's season attendence record was broken on Saturday with possible numbers over 50,000.

2) It is currently not an upcharge, but in 2008 it will be which will help with crowds.

Actually I really don't see how people are upset about criticism of the park, just that when someone comes in here and proclaims their knowledge because they vote in a tainted poll is acting just like the 16 year old tag that they claim to actually be avoiding. Or they are acting like Al Gore proclaiming that he started the internet.

Especially since it has well publicized that HH in 2008 will be an upcharge event, how would this well informed and knowledgeable Golden Ticket voter not know this? It has been news on every enthusiast site even before it was announced that there would be an upcharge in '08 but not in '07.

And another qualification to vote for the Golden Ticket awards is that you could be a subscriber to Amusement Today. Well I wonder how that makes you a well traveled fan? It certainly makes you a paying fan, yet I question well traveled. Especially since you can find Amusement Today at a dentist's office. I am willing to bet there are some that frequent this bored that do vote for the Golden Tickets, yet never felt compelled to announce it with the expectation to be treated different.

And it is also quite apparent that those who spend the most money on advertising in Amusement Today seem to be the ones that also win the most. Do you think that CF would spend money on a full page ad for CP if they were voted the 5th best park? While parks like Kennywood or Hershey decide to spend their revenue in other areas and don't seem to get the respect from the GTA, yet many enthusiasts adore those parks. Those would be the same enthusiasts that bash CP on a daily basis, yet CP is #1 yet again.

If you really want to get a good feeling on how enthusiasts (which all of us are) feel about the Golden Tickets, look at some of the responses here:

http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=10703

[Shman]

As far as passholders whining about a possible upcharge this year goes, I agree with them because I am one of them! My pass was bought with the Halloween event listed as a perk.

EXCEPT>.....I am pretty sure (if I remember correctly) that if you turn over that magical season pass you would find the phrase "not valid for FearFest" So, no....it wasnt a perk.

[The Interpreter]

But the park maps said season passes included free admission to Fear Fest, and those get a LOT more attention than the backs of season passes.

[BoddaH1994]

As far as passholders whining about a possible upcharge this year goes, I agree with them because I am one of them! My pass was bought with the Halloween event listed as a perk.

EXCEPT>.....I am pretty sure (if I remember correctly) that if you turn over that magical season pass you would find the phrase "not valid for FearFest" So, no....it wasnt a perk.

I'm pretty sure that my pass specifically says that it's not valid for Knott's Halloween Haunt.

[CoastersRZ]

Yeah. Interesting to note, that my new Gold Season Pass that I got this past Sunday does mention the upcharge to KI`s event. However, it states the name of the event as FearFest and not Halloween Haunt. This is likely just a leftover pass from the beginning of the operating season, that never got used as a 2007 season pass.

[skjackson]

It's not really your fault, a lot of the people on here just can't accpet any criticism of the park or the almighty Cedar Fair.

Who cares if this guy votes for amusent today, he obviously knows something about the industry and has something to do with it if hes actualy being given a ballot. I wouldn't really say hes showing off anymore than say Uncle Henry who feels the need to announce his "return" and "exodus" from KICentral cause he think's he's really that important around here.

It is too bad that skjackson had a bad time. Apparently it is not as well known that :

1) When there is good weather during these events, they get crushed as experienced is years past. On a side note: apparently CP's season attendence record was broken on Saturday with possible numbers over 50,000.

2) It is currently not an upcharge, but in 2008 it will be which will help with crowds.

Actually I really don't see how people are upset about criticism of the park, just that when someone comes in here and proclaims their knowledge because they vote in a tainted poll is acting just like the 16 year old tag that they claim to actually be avoiding. Or they are acting like Al Gore proclaiming that he started the internet.

Especially since it has well publicized that HH in 2008 will be an upcharge event, how would this well informed and knowledgeable Golden Ticket voter not know this? It has been news on every enthusiast site even before it was announced that there would be an upcharge in '08 but not in '07.

And another qualification to vote for the Golden Ticket awards is that you could be a subscriber to Amusement Today. Well I wonder how that makes you a well traveled fan? It certainly makes you a paying fan, yet I question well traveled. Especially since you can find Amusement Today at a dentist's office. I am willing to bet there are some that frequent this bored that do vote for the Golden Tickets, yet never felt compelled to announce it with the expectation to be treated different.

And it is also quite apparent that those who spend the most money on advertising in Amusement Today seem to be the ones that also win the most. Do you think that CF would spend money on a full page ad for CP if they were voted the 5th best park? While parks like Kennywood or Hershey decide to spend their revenue in other areas and don't seem to get the respect from the GTA, yet many enthusiasts adore those parks. Those would be the same enthusiasts that bash CP on a daily basis, yet CP is #1 yet again.

If you really want to get a good feeling on how enthusiasts (which all of us are) feel about the Golden Tickets, look at some of the responses here:

http://www.KICentral.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=10703

First of all, this was not you trip report, it was mine. It is not open for debate at all. This was what I went through and I posted it on this rediculously biased forum.

This is not bragging. Once again, this is not bragging. My sole intention with this is to stop the questions that keep getting thrown at me and the stupid assumptions that certain people make in order to get me to post these facts in the first place.

Since you want to know so much about my personal life:I have been to King's Island 32 times in the last 30 years, I am 39 years old, I do not subscribe to Amusement Today, and I have been a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts for over 20 years. I have ridden over 400 roller coasters in my life. I would say that answers all of your smart little questions and corrects your pathetic assumptions when you don't even know me. Jump on me all you want, but you asked for all of these answers. I do travel to parks a lot. In fact, almost every one of my vacations is centered around roller coasters and parks. And yes, I did know that they were upcharging next year. When did I ever say that I didn't? Maybe the park could have avoided this gridlock in the crowd by not selling out to capacity. If the park already knew that they needed to start an upcharge for the event to control the crowds, then how am I the stupid one here? I knew about the upcharge as soon as Cedar Fair bought the park. Common sense should tell you that if it works at Knott's ,then people will pay it at KI as well. They will make more money that way.

I never bashed the park in my first post. I just said it was an unorganized event. You would think that after working with Knott's for several years, some of the people who came from there over to KI would have known what to expect. That is all I was saying. King's Island is still one of my favorite parks. This post started out as a trip report and it has turned into prying into my personal life because I said that I understand theme parks and how events can be run. Thanks for turning my trip report into the most useless post I have seen in this entire forum. I truly appreciate it. The only people who would understand any of my original post are people who have been to Halloween Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm.

If King's Island can take this event in the future to the same level of control that Knott's Berry Farm has achieved, I will come to Haunt at KI every single year because it will be well worth it. They have a great idea going here, and I would absolutely love to return and enjoy it.

And back to the Golden Ticket Awards... I dont see a lot of whining in here about King's Island winning best children's area and I sure don't see a lot of whining about Cedar Point winning a ton of awards every year. I don't vote for Cedar Point on many things at all, because I prefer parks like Knoebel's and Kennywood. I love the fact that they use their money on something other than huge rides.

I will not repeat myself about why I mentioned the Awards, but I sincerely hope that I have satisfied your craving for an abundance of information about my life.

I have no problems with King's Island as a park, I just had a bad time at this event.

It's pretty sad that a person, like myself, who truly loves theme parks cannot post an opinion on a forum without getting jumped on by people who think I am an outsider who knows nothing. I would like to thank those of you who treated me like a person in here.

That is the end. I am done with this. I am tired of answering questions because I have opinions. I will not do it again.

[PKIVortex]

Yeah. Interesting to note, that my new Gold Season Pass that I got this past Sunday does mention the upcharge to KI`s event. However, it states the name of the event as FearFest and not Halloween Haunt. This is likely just a leftover pass from the beginning of the operating season, that never got used as a 2007 season pass.

Intresting as my 2007 Gold Pass says nothing about FearFest on it what so ever. I got my real pass on the first day of the season, April 21st. So that is weird, if yours for 2008 says that. I'll have to check it out when I finally get my 2008 Gold Pass.

[Browntggrr]

First of all, this was not you trip report, it was mine. It is not open for debate at all. This was what I went through and I posted it on this rediculously biased forum.

This is not bragging. Once again, this is not bragging. My sole intention with this is to stop the questions that keep getting thrown at me and the stupid assumptions that certain people make in order to get me to post these facts in the first place.

Since you want to know so much about my personal life:I have been to King's Island 32 times in the last 30 years, I am 39 years old, I do not subscribe to Amusement Today, and I have been a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts for over 20 years. I have ridden over 400 roller coasters in my life. I would say that answers all of your smart little questions and corrects your pathetic assumptions when you don't even know me. Jump on me all you want, but you asked for all of these answers. I do travel to parks a lot. In fact, almost every one of my vacations is centered around roller coasters and parks. And yes, I did know that they were upcharging next year. When did I ever say that I didn't? Maybe the park could have avoided this gridlock in the crowd by not selling out to capacity. If the park already knew that they needed start an upcharge for the event to control the crowds, then how am I the stupid one here? I knew about the upcharge as soon as Cedar Fair bought the park. Common sense should tell you that if it works at Knott's ,then people will pay it at KI as well. They will make more money that way.

I never bashed the park in my first post. I just said it was an unorganized event. You would think that after working with Knott's for several years, some of the people who came from there over to KI would have known what to expect. That is all I was saying. King's Island is still one of my favorite parks. This post started out as a trip report and it has turned into prying into my personal life because I said that I understand theme parks and how events can be run. Thanks for turning my trip report into the most useless post I have seen in this entire forum. I truly appreciate it. The only people who would understand any of my original post are people who have been to Halloween Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm.

If King's Island can take this event in the future to the same level of control that Knott's Berry Farm has achieved, I will come to Haunt at KI every single year because it will be well worth it. They have a great idea going here.

And back to the Golden Ticket Awards, I dont see a lot of whihing in here about King's Island winning best children's area and I sure don't see a lot of whining about Cedar Point winning a ton of awards every year. I will not repeat myself about why I mentioned the Awards, but I sincerely hope that I have satisfied your craving for an abundance of information about my life.

Ah, where to start...

I could really care less that you believed HH was unorganized. Sure, when you have a rather large crowd during a 6 hour period, things will get missed. That will happen with any event. I would have expected a vetern park enthusiast like yourself to have understood that. But hey, that is your opinion and you are entitled to it. And honestly, it is a good thing that vetern amusement park enthusiasts, like yourself, do have opinions on such events. It is well known that upper management staff of the park frequent this site, and they may happen to take your comments as a valid opinion and try to correct the problem.

And while you did not come out and make the direct quote about your knowledge of the upcharge in '08, your comments of:

I think the capacity needs to be controlled. Maybe they could sell less tickets. I understand it's all about money, but there are limits.

Then another member posted about the upcharge in '08, which led to your comment of:

If it grows into anything like the event at Knott's Berry Farm, I can promise everyone that it will definitely be worth the separate price.

That certainly led me to believe that you had no idea of the upcharge in '08. If you knew about it, you would have answered your own comment in your original post. You certainly did not hold back on telling us about your elite status and knowledge, so why would you hold back on specific knowledge?

But now this is where I will defend KI. Knott's has been doing this for how long? They are also open for all but 8 days in October, so the demand to go to the park on a specific day or weekend for an event like HH would not be as great compared to KI. Not to mention their staff is year-round where KI scrambles this time of year to bring in as many qualified people as possible. Now the weather. Sure Cincinnati gets decent weather, but nothing compared to Southern California. In October the average temperature near Knott's is 66.8 degrees with an average rainfall of .3". In Cincinnati the averages in October are 54.1 degrees and 2.4" of rain. So when the weather is good, people are going to flock to those two days, or those few days prior to Halloween, when KI is open. So it is quite easy to see that comparing both parks is rather unfair.

Where you certainly lost me is when you started to try and throw your weight around because you vote for the Golden Tickets. Your comments of trying to let others' understand that you know what you are talking about, just because you vote in that poll actually put yourself into that position of being questioned. But now look at it from this angle, how is it no problem for you to have an opinion about how a park operates for a special event, but I cannot have an opinion about a tainted poll?

Hey it is great that you have been on over 400 coasters. Congrats! I'm not really sure how that makes you an expert in the amusement park field, but it does in your mind. It is always good to have self confidence. But now, is the amount of coasters really make that much of a difference? There are approximately 730 coasters just in North America, and according to your count, you have been on just over half of them. What about the rest of the 40% in North America? Or how about the 2100 coaster that are Worldwide? Don't they count? Or is it just the bigger parks that get the most attention?

And congrats on being an ACE member. I'm not really sure why you would mention that, but obviously you are proud to be a card carrying member of a club that you have to pay for. BTW, I have been a paying subscriber to ESPN for over 25 years, and I am in no way an expert on sports, nor will I claim to be.

By the way you quickly pointed out that you are an expert in the field, it seems that you came packing for a fight. Sure we, or at least me, will be somewhat biased to KI. This is a KI site. Go to a neutral site like TPR or CB if you want unbiased opinions. But even here, at KICentral, we tend to be even more critical of the park than most guests. Only because we go to the park sometimes on a weekly basis unlike the guest that goes once a year. We see changes month to month, week to week, and sometimes day to day. Some changes recieve praise, others not so much.

And don't forget to mention that you are a voter for the Golden Tickets as well as a member of ACE. Your reception be very warm!

[skjackson]

First of all, this was not you trip report, it was mine. It is not open for debate at all. This was what I went through and I posted it on this rediculously biased forum.

This is not bragging. Once again, this is not bragging. My sole intention with this is to stop the questions that keep getting thrown at me and the stupid assumptions that certain people make in order to get me to post these facts in the first place.

Since you want to know so much about my personal life:I have been to King's Island 32 times in the last 30 years, I am 39 years old, I do not subscribe to Amusement Today, and I have been a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts for over 20 years. I have ridden over 400 roller coasters in my life. I would say that answers all of your smart little questions and corrects your pathetic assumptions when you don't even know me. Jump on me all you want, but you asked for all of these answers. I do travel to parks a lot. In fact, almost every one of my vacations is centered around roller coasters and parks. And yes, I did know that they were upcharging next year. When did I ever say that I didn't? Maybe the park could have avoided this gridlock in the crowd by not selling out to capacity. If the park already knew that they needed start an upcharge for the event to control the crowds, then how am I the stupid one here? I knew about the upcharge as soon as Cedar Fair bought the park. Common sense should tell you that if it works at Knott's ,then people will pay it at KI as well. They will make more money that way.

I never bashed the park in my first post. I just said it was an unorganized event. You would think that after working with Knott's for several years, some of the people who came from there over to KI would have known what to expect. That is all I was saying. King's Island is still one of my favorite parks. This post started out as a trip report and it has turned into prying into my personal life because I said that I understand theme parks and how events can be run. Thanks for turning my trip report into the most useless post I have seen in this entire forum. I truly appreciate it. The only people who would understand any of my original post are people who have been to Halloween Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm.

If King's Island can take this event in the future to the same level of control that Knott's Berry Farm has achieved, I will come to Haunt at KI every single year because it will be well worth it. They have a great idea going here.

And back to the Golden Ticket Awards, I dont see a lot of whihing in here about King's Island winning best children's area and I sure don't see a lot of whining about Cedar Point winning a ton of awards every year. I will not repeat myself about why I mentioned the Awards, but I sincerely hope that I have satisfied your craving for an abundance of information about my life.

Ah, where to start...

I could really care less that you believed HH was unorganized. Sure, when you have a rather large crowd during a 6 hour period, things will get missed. That will happen with any event. I would have expected a vetern park enthusiast like yourself to have understood that. But hey, that is your opinion and you are entitled to it. And honestly, it is a good thing that vetern amusement park enthusiasts, like yourself, do have opinions on such events. It is well known that upper management staff of the park frequent this site, and they may happen to take your comments as a valid opinion and try to correct the problem.

And while you did not come out and make the direct quote about your knowledge of the upcharge in '08, your comments of:

I think the capacity needs to be controlled. Maybe they could sell less tickets. I understand it's all about money, but there are limits.

Then another member posted about the upcharge in '08, which led to your comment of:

If it grows into anything like the event at Knott's Berry Farm, I can promise everyone that it will definitely be worth the separate price.

That certainly led me to believe that you had no idea of the upcharge in '08. If you knew about it, you would have answered your own comment in your original post. You certainly did not hold back on telling us about your elite status and knowledge, so why would you hold back on specific knowledge?

But now this is where I will defend KI. Knott's has been doing this for how long? They are also open for all but 8 days in October, so the demand to go to the park on a specific day or weekend for an event like HH would not be as great compared to KI. Not to mention their staff is year-round where KI scrambles this time of year to bring in as many qualified people as possible. Now the weather. Sure Cincinnati gets decent weather, but nothing compared to Southern California. In October the average temperature near Knott's is 66.8 degrees with an average rainfall of .3". In Cincinnati the averages in October are 54.1 degrees and 2.4" of rain. So when the weather is good, people are going to flock to those two days, or those few days prior to Halloween, when KI is open. So it is quite easy to see that comparing both parks is rather unfair.

Where you certainly lost me is when you started to try and throw your weight around because you vote for the Golden Tickets. Your comments of trying to let others' understand that you know what you are talking about, just because you vote in that poll actually put yourself into that position of being questioned. But now look at it from this angle, how is it no problem for you to have an opinion about how a park operates for a special event, but I cannot have an opinion about a tainted poll?

Hey it is great that you have been on over 400 coasters. Congrats! I'm not really sure how that makes you an expert in the amusement park field, but it does in your mind. It is always good to have self confidence. But now, is the amount of coasters really make that much of a difference? There are approximately 730 coasters just in North America, and according to your count, you have been on just over half of them. What about the rest of the 40% in North America? Or how about the 2100 coaster that are Worldwide? Don't they count? Or is it just the bigger parks that get the most attention?

And congrats on being an ACE member. I'm not really sure why you would mention that, but obviously you are proud to be a card carrying member of a club that you have to pay for. BTW, I have been a paying subscriber to ESPN for over 25 years, and I am in no way an expert on sports, nor will I claim to be.

By the way you quickly pointed out that you are an expert in the field, it seems that you came packing for a fight. Sure we, or at least me, will be somewhat biased to KI. This is a KI site. Go to a neutral site like TPR or CB if you want unbiased opinions. But even here, at KICentral, we tend to be even more critical of the park than most guests. Only because we go to the park sometimes on a weekly basis unlike the guest that goes once a year. We see changes month to month, week to week, and sometimes day to day. Some changes recieve praise, others not so much.

And don't forget to mention that you are a voter for the Golden Tickets as well as a member of ACE. Your reception be very warm!

If it were any warmer than yours, I would be burning in HELL.

[Browntggrr]

If it were any warmer than yours, I would be burning in HELL. Did you even stop to think or care that Knott's Halloween Haunt was voted the #1 Halloween event last year in that poll? God help me, even I actually voted for it. But it is a stupid poll that means nothing. I'm sorry I expected too much from KI and you people in this forum. You asked questions and made me give you answers. What the hell more do you want? Is that better for you? Do you understand english? You asked, I

answered. END OF STORY. Quit asking if you don't want to read my answers. I am an honest person. Apparently it is one of my downfalls. That and finding this forum.

^ Please don't let my voice represent KICentral.

I am just one person of almost 3000 with an opinion.

Certainly you know that 1 person does not speak for almost 3000.

And yes, it is very well known that KBF has won the Golden Ticket for their Haunt. Which is just another reason that, as prestigious as the GT's are, it is rather unfair to compare the two Haunts and that the walk up ticket prices being $5 more for Knott's.

EDIT: Whoops, apparently I quoted you before you could make your edit. Sorry!

[skjackson]

If it were any warmer than yours, I would be burning in HELL. Did you even stop to think or care that Knott's Halloween Haunt was voted the #1 Halloween event last year in that poll? God help me, even I actually voted for it. But it is a stupid poll that means nothing. I'm sorry I expected too much from KI and you people in this forum. You asked questions and made me give you answers. What the hell more do you want? Is that better for you? Do you understand english? You asked, I

answered. END OF STORY. Quit asking if you don't want to read my answers. I am an honest person. Apparently it is one of my downfalls. That and finding this forum.

^ Please don't let my voice represent KICentral.

I am just one person of almost 3000 with an opinion.

Certainly you know that 1 person does not speak for almost 3000.

And yes, it is very well known that KBF has won the Golden Ticket for their Haunt. Which is just another reason that, as prestigious as the GT's are, it is rather unfair to compare the two Haunts and that the walk up ticket prices being $5 more for Knott's.

See. This is where I am misunderstood by everyone. I think it is fantastic that the Halloween Haunt event has been added to KI. It is a very well respected event in the industry. I know they will work everything out, and I know it will be great. It may just take a while. And there is nothing wrong with that. I compare the 2 because I feel like KI will reach that level and it will be great. I don't want to argue with anyone on here about anything, I just don't want to get "jumped on" either. I think it is a very big deal that Cedar Fair thought enough about KI to bring the name Halloween Haunt over from Knott's. I am not a complete expert on parks, but I have been to this event 6 times now-5 at Knott's and once at KI. That is what I based my trip report on-my personal experiences over 6 years of this event. Roller coasters and all that other crap don't have anything to do with this, but people kept wanting to know what made me think I knew anything. I would bet most or none of you have been to Knott's event. It is amazing, and KI will be too. It will just take a little time. That is about the calmest I can respond to everything. I am glad that you see fit to throw your knowledge around about the number of coasters in North America and the World. Once I make over 1,000 posts, I guess I will be given the same oppurtunity. I really don't see the point of how that had anything to do with my trip report. It makes us both "stupid idiots" that are not coaster experts.

[buchers]

As far as passholders whining about a possible upcharge this year goes, I agree with them because I am one of them! My pass was bought with the Halloween event listed as a perk.

EXCEPT>.....I am pretty sure (if I remember correctly) that if you turn over that magical season pass you would find the phrase "not valid for FearFest" So, no....it wasnt a perk.

My pass says absolutely NOTHING about "not valid for FearFest" on the back.

[Browntggrr]

^ Well there is no upcharge this year, so it is rather a mute point.

[KIBeast]

Sorry, but I am agreeing with everything tggr said. I mean, coming in and flaunting credentials will probably accomplish nothing except you getting severly flamed. I don't have much respect for ACE nor do I think the Golden Ticket Awards are anything to be screaming about either. I have read on many coaster sites how ACErs just love to flaunt their knowledge while standing in line for a ride by people who couldn't care less. Then, they whip out their ACE card so they can "prove" that they know more than anyone else. I'm sure not all Acers are like this, but it seems to be the image that the club is projecting. We know it all, you know nothing.

[skjackson]

First of all, this was not you trip report, it was mine. It is not open for debate at all. This was what I went through and I posted it on this rediculously biased forum.

This is not bragging. Once again, this is not bragging. My sole intention with this is to stop the questions that keep getting thrown at me and the stupid assumptions that certain people make in order to get me to post these facts in the first place.

Since you want to know so much about my personal life:I have been to King's Island 32 times in the last 30 years, I am 39 years old, I do not subscribe to Amusement Today, and I have been a member of the American Coaster Enthusiasts for over 20 years. I have ridden over 400 roller coasters in my life. I would say that answers all of your smart little questions and corrects your pathetic assumptions when you don't even know me. Jump on me all you want, but you asked for all of these answers. I do travel to parks a lot. In fact, almost every one of my vacations is centered around roller coasters and parks. And yes, I did know that they were upcharging next year. When did I ever say that I didn't? Maybe the park could have avoided this gridlock in the crowd by not selling out to capacity. If the park already knew that they needed start an upcharge for the event to control the crowds, then how am I the stupid one here? I knew about the upcharge as soon as Cedar Fair bought the park. Common sense should tell you that if it works at Knott's ,then people will pay it at KI as well. They will make more money that way.

I never bashed the park in my first post. I just said it was an unorganized event. You would think that after working with Knott's for several years, some of the people who came from there over to KI would have known what to expect. That is all I was saying. King's Island is still one of my favorite parks. This post started out as a trip report and it has turned into prying into my personal life because I said that I understand theme parks and how events can be run. Thanks for turning my trip report into the most useless post I have seen in this entire forum. I truly appreciate it. The only people who would understand any of my original post are people who have been to Halloween Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm.

If King's Island can take this event in the future to the same level of control that Knott's Berry Farm has achieved, I will come to Haunt at KI every single year because it will be well worth it. They have a great idea going here.

And back to the Golden Ticket Awards, I dont see a lot of whihing in here about King's Island winning best children's area and I sure don't see a lot of whining about Cedar Point winning a ton of awards every year. I will not repeat myself about why I mentioned the Awards, but I sincerely hope that I have satisfied your craving for an abundance of information about my life.

Ah, where to start...

I could really care less that you believed HH was unorganized. Sure, when you have a rather large crowd during a 6 hour period, things will get missed. That will happen with any event. I would have expected a vetern park enthusiast like yourself to have understood that. But hey, that is your opinion and you are entitled to it. And honestly, it is a good thing that vetern amusement park enthusiasts, like yourself, do have opinions on such events. It is well known that upper management staff of the park frequent this site, and they may happen to take your comments as a valid opinion and try to correct the problem.

And while you did not come out and make the direct quote about your knowledge of the upcharge in '08, your comments of:

I think the capacity needs to be controlled. Maybe they could sell less tickets. I understand it's all about money, but there are limits.

Then another member posted about the upcharge in '08, which led to your comment of:

If it grows into anything like the event at Knott's Berry Farm, I can promise everyone that it will definitely be worth the separate price.

That certainly led me to believe that you had no idea of the upcharge in '08. If you knew about it, you would have answered your own comment in your original post. You certainly did not hold back on telling us about your elite status and knowledge, so why would you hold back on specific knowledge?

But now this is where I will defend KI. Knott's has been doing this for how long? They are also open for all but 8 days in October, so the demand to go to the park on a specific day or weekend for an event like HH would not be as great compared to KI. Not to mention their staff is year-round where KI scrambles this time of year to bring in as many qualified people as possible. Now the weather. Sure Cincinnati gets decent weather, but nothing compared to Southern California. In October the average temperature near Knott's is 66.8 degrees with an average rainfall of .3". In Cincinnati the averages in October are 54.1 degrees and 2.4" of rain. So when the weather is good, people are going to flock to those two days, or those few days prior to Halloween, when KI is open. So it is quite easy to see that comparing both parks is rather unfair.

Where you certainly lost me is when you started to try and throw your weight around because you vote for the Golden Tickets. Your comments of trying to let others' understand that you know what you are talking about, just because you vote in that poll actually put yourself into that position of being questioned. But now look at it from this angle, how is it no problem for you to have an opinion about how a park operates for a special event, but I cannot have an opinion about a tainted poll?

Hey it is great that you have been on over 400 coasters. Congrats! I'm not really sure how that makes you an expert in the amusement park field, but it does in your mind. It is always good to have self confidence. But now, is the amount of coasters really make that much of a difference? There are approximately 730 coasters just in North America, and according to your count, you have been on just over half of them. What about the rest of the 40% in North America? Or how about the 2100 coaster that are Worldwide? Don't they count? Or is it just the bigger parks that get the most attention?

And congrats on being an ACE member. I'm not really sure why you would mention that, but obviously you are proud to be a card carrying member of a club that you have to pay for. BTW, I have been a paying subscriber to ESPN for over 25 years, and I am in no way an expert on sports, nor will I claim to be.

By the way you quickly pointed out that you are an expert in the field, it seems that you came packing for a fight. Sure we, or at least me, will be somewhat biased to KI. This is a KI site. Go to a neutral site like TPR or CB if you want unbiased opinions. But even here, at KICentral, we tend to be even more critical of the park than most guests. Only because we go to the park sometimes on a weekly basis unlike the guest that goes once a year. We see changes month to month, week to week, and sometimes day to day. Some changes recieve praise, others not so much.

And don't forget to mention that you are a voter for the Golden Tickets as well as a member of ACE. Your reception be very warm!

If it were any warmer than yours, I would be burning in HELL.

Okay, so your ESPN comment has opened a whole new door for me.

When you watch ESPN, do they give you a ticket to the board room? I don't think so.

Not only have I been a paying member of ACE since 1979, I have spent the last 13 years as a Regional Rep. I would think this fully validates my travel and knowledge of parks. I must have at least a little knowledge. And I love the way you quoted the number of coasters in the world which you most likely got from the ACE website. This number is probably innacurate by now. How many years have you worked in the theme park industry? I have worked in it for over 10 years, including Six Flags (1982-1987), Disney(1987-1990), and Knott's Berry Farm(1980-1982).

I came in here to post as a regular person, and you have turnrd me into a marked target for your disposal. I assure you none of this is made up. Every time I mention anything about why I have any knowledge, you giggle and fire away right back at me. It's really quite pathetic. I have made MANY positive comments about the park. I even said that I would like to return next year to the event. You seem to be hung up on the fact that no one but you knows anything about theme parks.

If you keep questioning me, I will keep giving you answers that you OBVIOUSLY don't want to see.

I am so sick of "I don't know why you said this or that". The best thing for you to do at this point is find another topic in here so that you can post your negative and hateful comments toward someone else. I don't think I have seen many pleasant posts by you at all in here. This is not why I came into this forum, although I find it amusing.

[skjackson]

Sorry, but I am agreeing with everything tggr said. I mean, coming in and flaunting credentials will probably accomplish nothing except you getting severly flamed. I don't have much respect for ACE nor do I think the Golden Ticket Awards are anything to be screaming about either. I have read on many coaster sites how ACErs just love to flaunt their knowledge while standing in line for a ride by people who couldn't care less. Then, they whip out their ACE card so they can "prove" that they know more than anyone else. I'm sure not all Acers are like this, but it seems to be the image that the club is projecting. We know it all, you know nothing.

You people in here made it sound like "YOU" knew everything and I knew nothing. I am sick and tired of repeatedly explaining this to you all. The only reason I mentioned any of that STUPID CRAP is to get you people off my back about being some randomly stupid idiot. That is NOT what I am. I have explained this over and over and over and over. I also find it convenient to gripe about me throwing out numbers of coasters and then turning around and telling me how many coasters there are in the country and the world. I am sorry that I haven't posted in here over 1,000 or 2,000 times, but that doesn't make me an idiot. It was a trip report people. Plain and simple.

[KIBeast]

And here we go again, flaunting more credentials. We know nothing, you know everything. Now the world can go back to usual business.

It's not like ACE is this huge, world-wide recoginized group. It's known for loudmouth enthusiasts who think my opinion means spit while everything they say is GOLDEN!

Sorry, got now love for ACErs

Post your report over on Coasterbuzz with credentials left in and see just how quickly you will need a flame retardent suit. It's not just this site.

[tycoonrebel7188]

skjackson, if you're tired of people asking you all of these questions, discontinue reading this thread. You're just wasting your time and breath constantly trying to answer questions. We KIC posters are getting on your nerves, I can tell.

Just trying to help you out here man, as i'm neutral on the subject.

[KIBeast]

This was by far the worst visit I have ever had at King's Island.

Let me start by stating that King's Island has always been one of my favorite parks. I am not bashing the park or the event. I just think it has a lot more potential.

First of all, we had to wait 20 minutes longer to get into the Fright Feast because the sign telling where to wait was put on the wrong side of the restaurant. We even asked two different employees, including one at Guest Relations, and that is where they told us to wait. When we finally figured out where to go for the meal, we all went in the re-entry turnstall. No one bothered to check our hand stamps. There were 10 or so people behind us who also went in. We don't even know if they had paid for the meal or were just going in. They may not have paid to get in at all.

We got walked back to Club Blood. It was not bad, but not fantastic. By the time we got out of Club Blood, the lines were backed up on the other mazes beyond belief. It wasn't even dark yet. By the time it got dark outside, you could not even walk comfortably through the midways.

*** I knew it would be crazy crowded. I did not expect the crowds to be anywhere near this large, even this close to Halloween.

My biggest problem with the whole event was the lack of organization. I do realize that this was the first year for Halloween Haunt at King's Island, but I hope they can learn from the problems that were apparent. The lines need to be set up with longer temporary cue areas. I have been to Halloween Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm 5 times. Knott's has employees who stand at the end of the line, wherever it may happen to be, and hold up a huge sign showing that they are standing at the end of the line and the sign will show which maze/attraction the line is for. Also at Knott's, you NEVER EVER have to wait for a WALK THROUGH scare zone. I believe that is why they call them scare zones. People should just flow through these haunted areas. If you are that scared, don't go through them. I don't think people should be sent through these in groups. It just hold up the lines. I hate to compare it to Knott's again, but they have been doing it for 35 years and they keep the people moving. Basically, I can't even begin to describe how long the Corn Stalkers line got on Saturday night. I know that people were standing still for quite some time before they were let in. I don't understand why people can't just walk through.

I think the capacity needs to be controlled. Maybe they could sell less tickets. I understand it's all about money, but there are limits.

Maybe after a few years, King's Island will get everything fine tuned. I really hope they do, but I think they should have waited a little while longer to call it "Halloween Haunt". I would not even begin to compare this event to the annual event at Knott's Berry Farm. I do realize that Knott's has been doing "Haunt" for 35 years, but I hope the ideas and tricks will transfer over to King's Island in the future. I strongly urge everyone to visit Halloween Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm if you ever get the chance.

In a nutshell, we drove 6 hours to go to the all new Halloween Haunt, we got the runaround at the Fright Feast, and we only got to do 2 Halloween attractions.

I was very disappointed by the event, but the park looked immaculate.

It is a Saturday night and getting closer to Halloween, what do you expect?

I think everything was handled nicely. I think everyone worked as hard as they could to provide each and every person with a great experience. There will always be some things that cannot be controlled.

A+ for this weekend.

I am not a stupid person. If you don't think they could have controlled telling me where to stand to be let in to the Fright Feast, I am really confused. There was a sign that said to wait right there for the dinner. It just happened to be on the complete wrong side of the restaurant. I guess that is totally my fault? Someone who worked there should have known this and directed us to the proper side. Also, I don't suppose you think they could have "controlled" directing me to the Gold Pass parking when I paid for "preferred" parking. Just so you know, the Gold Pass parking is further out than the preferred parking. There is absolutely no excuse for the parking lot attendant that works there to direct me to a lot that is further out, when there were plenty of spots in the lot that we paid for. I have been going to King's Island since Taft owned it in the 70s. I was just stating that I had a bad trip. These 2 things, if nothing else, could have been controlled.

Please don't think I am ignorant about events at Theme Parks. I am asked annually to submit a ballot to Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards. What this means to most people is that I am considered an expert on most aspects of theme park operations. It also means that I get to vote on best rides, staff, and events at parks for each year.

What I expected is something that truly lived up to the name "Halloween Haunt". I have been to "Halloween Haunt" at Knott's Berry Farm on SOLD OUT nights on more than one occasion. I was able to do all the mazes each time I went to their event. They have more mazes than King's Island. The main reason is the way they control the crowd. I would love for someone to explain to me how I can do all the mazes at Knott's, but only 2 at King's Island. I fully expected it to be busy, but Knott's has it down to an art.

I have already stated that the event has great potential, I just think it may take some time to get things flowing smoothly.

This is where you went wrong. You accused them of calling or thinking you are stupid when in fact, all that they did was point out the obvious that Saturdays are extremely busy not to mention the crowds have been larger than at FF. And, you also expected it to be on par with HH at KBF when their HH has been going on since KI was born. Of course they will have to work out some of the bugs considering this is CF's first HH for KI.

[Gordon Bombay]

Sorry, but I am agreeing with everything tggr said. I mean, coming in and flaunting credentials will probably accomplish nothing except you getting severly flamed. I don't have much respect for ACE nor do I think the Golden Ticket Awards are anything to be screaming about either. I have read on many coaster sites how ACErs just love to flaunt their knowledge while standing in line for a ride by people who couldn't care less. Then, they whip out their ACE card so they can "prove" that they know more than anyone else. I'm sure not all Acers are like this, but it seems to be the image that the club is projecting. We know it all, you know nothing.

You people in here made it sound like "YOU" knew everything and I knew nothing. I am sick and tired of repeatedly explaining this to you all. The only reason I mentioned any of that STUPID CRAP is to get you people off my back about being some randomly stupid idiot. That is NOT what I am. I have explained this over and over and over and over. I also find it convenient to gripe about me throwing out numbers of coasters and then turning around and telling me how many coasters there are in the country and the world. I am sorry that I haven't posted in here over 1,000 or 2,000 times, but that doesn't make me an idiot. It was a trip report people. Plain and simple.

So what your trying to say is that you are an experienced park-goer who has experienced halloween events and visited parks throughout many years, Kings Island being one of them. The topic here is not teh validity of golden ticket awards or ACE or any other coaster club for that matter. Jackson is obviously an experienced park goer and member of the general public, he did not have the best experience with his visit to HH but believe it will be better in the future. We all make trip reports, we all have opinions on the events at the park, this topic is his report. So lets discuss the report and similar experiences/disimilar experiences at the park rathet than flaming eachother:

I enjoyed HH this year, having gone on both friday and saturday nights. As a member of the media where you got exclusive treatment and as a regular guest who had to wait in long lines. I too look forward to seeing if the event possibly becomes an upcharge and if that helps crowds any as well as seeing the event come more up to par with the Knott's event if the park decides to keep going this direction with the event.

[PKIVortex]

I enjoyed HH this year, having gone on both friday and saturday nights. As a member of the media where you got exclusive treatment and as a regular guest who had to wait in long lines. I too look forward to seeing if the event possibly becomes an upcharge and if that helps crowds any as well as seeing the event come more up to par with the Knott's event if the park decides to keep going this direction with the event.

If the event possibly becomes an upcharge? It will be an upcharge in 2008.

[hauntguy]

^It will be, it's been kind of "announced"... RYAN!!! -Hauntguy

[KIBeast]

^^^I didn't read in any of the posts where anyone questioned him being any kind of park expert until he whipped out the GT awards and ACE membership. Most people asked him a simple question like why he didn't expect the crowds to be insane on a Saturday. Not to mention that hidden agenda said ."There will always be some things that cannot be controlled. " Jackson took that as an isult to his intelligence, therefore, he needed to whip out the ACE and GT awards credentials. He only set himself up to be flamed every post after that.

[PKIVortex]

It's common sense though, that the park will be overly packed on a Saturday.

[Gordon Bombay]

I enjoyed HH this year, having gone on both friday and saturday nights. As a member of the media where you got exclusive treatment and as a regular guest who had to wait in long lines. I too look forward to seeing if the event possibly becomes an upcharge and if that helps crowds any as well as seeing the event come more up to par with the Knott's event if the park decides to keep going this direction with the event.

If the event possibly becomes an upcharge? It will be an upcharge in 2008.

Ryan mentioned the possibility, but that has not been 100 percent announced or confirmed, as hauntguy said lol.

^^^I didn't read in any of the posts where anyone questioned him being any kind of park expert until he whipped out the GT awards and ACE membership. Most people asked him a simple question like why he didn't expect the crowds to be insane on a Saturday. Not to mention that hidden agenda said ."There will always be some things that cannot be controlled. " Jackson took that as an isult to his intelligence, therefore, he needed to whip out the ACE and GT awards credentials. He only set himself up to be flamed every post after that.

We're back on topic now, and if anyone is gonna question the original poster, any other poster in this topic, or chime in their opinions, the least you can do is read the entire topic to get a feel for the context and subject being discussed.

It's common sense though, that the park will be overly packed on a Saturday.

The problem was not the crowds, he expected that he said. He said he had a problem with how the crowds were handled and regulated and wished it had been done in a similar fashion to Knott's event which is what they're trying to model KI's after in a few ways.

[Cory Butcher]

^Exactly what Ronny said. I'm sorry that you had an unpleasant experience at the park Skjackson. I, like Gordon Bombay and TycoonRebel and many others read exactly what you said not what we interpreted you said, unlike others in this forum. Hopefully on your visit next year you will find that the crowd control is more...um...controlled!

Personally, I dont have a problem with you listing your credentials as they were. I am glad that you feel proud to be in either of those organizations. And since your opinion stated that your well traveledness was credential enough to have an opinion in comparison on the matter of crowd control at parks, I feel like many others you were in full right to list those credentials that make you well traveled.

It is too bad people dont understand what was said when they read a material. In any case, noone here could have expected the type of crowd there was this past weekend at the park unless they had a crystal ball. For those who havent been going, Saturday was the most packed event at Kings Island that I personally had ever witnessed!

[skjackson]

I enjoyed HH this year, having gone on both friday and saturday nights. As a member of the media where you got exclusive treatment and as a regular guest who had to wait in long lines. I too look forward to seeing if the event possibly becomes an upcharge and if that helps crowds any as well as seeing the event come more up to par with the Knott's event if the park decides to keep going this direction with the event.

If the event possibly becomes an upcharge? It will be an upcharge in 2008.

Ryan mentioned the possibility, but that has not been 100 percent announced or confirmed, as hauntguy said lol.

^^^I didn't read in any of the posts where anyone questioned him being any kind of park expert until he whipped out the GT awards and ACE membership. Most people asked him a simple question like why he didn't expect the crowds to be insane on a Saturday. Not to mention that hidden agenda said ."There will always be some things that cannot be controlled. " Jackson took that as an isult to his intelligence, therefore, he needed to whip out the ACE and GT awards credentials. He only set himself up to be flamed every post after that.

We're back on topic now, and if anyone is gonna question the original poster, any other poster in this topic, or chime in their opinions, the least you can do is read the entire topic to get a feel for the context and subject being discussed.

It's common sense though, that the park will be overly packed on a Saturday.

The problem was not the crowds, he expected that he said. He said he had a problem with how the crowds were handled and regulated and wished it had been done in a similar fashion to Knott's event which is what they're trying to model KI's after in a few ways.

Thank you so much for actually reading my entire posts and trying to understand where I am coming from. You said in this last post exactly what I was trying to get across to people. Thanks for understanding my posts the way that they were meant to be taken.

[BoddaH1994]

^ If you read a lot of people's posts, they attack ACE and the Golden Ticket thing, but not you personally.