Regarding Loose Articles

[Ride Ops Jon]

Hello folks,

I'm trying to plan a trip to Kings Island next weekend, and have a question regarding loose articles. As an employee at Michigan's Adventure and previously from Cedar Point, I'm familiar with those parks as far as you cannot take loose articles on the ride, but the park provides a bin (in most cases) for while you are gone.

I plan on taking my camera, which is too big to fit in a cargo pocket so instead I tend to carry it in a smaller camera bag. My questions are:

1.) Does Kings Island have bins for items like this while riding, and if yes/no, what rides don't?

2.) How much does locker rental cost, and what is the most central location in the park?

It's been a few years (okay, more than a few, but who's counting?) since I've been to the park, so I can't quite remember their exact policy. I know it's a Cedar Fair park, but I also know that some of the old policies are still around.

Thanks guys,

-Jon Roost

[RailRider]

I would recomend visiting the official Kings Island website or contacting the park directly at (800) 288-0808 or (513) 754-5700

They can answer any question you may have better than the various answers you will receive here.

[tigellinus]

^^Forgive me if I'm violating TOS, but the only rides I can think of that do NOT have bins (mostly due to a different loading/unloading places or due to a small station like Firehawk) are Firehawk, Flight of Fear, BLSC (there's an unofficial spot, but no bins), and The Crypt.

I believe most every major ride should be ok, but I'm cluessless about Nick U. (I only ride Avatar there), and I can't think of anything else that doesn't have a bin?

KI's loose article policy should be the same as MiA (i.e. common sense stuff like you can't hold things, glasses must be secured, etc.)

[iChase]

If I were to pick a locker location, I would probably go with either the Rivertown lockers (in front of the Crypt) or the ones in X-Base (in front of Firehawk).

[crazypkikid2005]

Actually Crypt does have bins for storage in their rendevous point and when it comes to lockers I would go with the X-base lockers or the ones near I-street and I have a feeling that the lockers at crypt may not be there this year no matter what the map my say now.

[iChase]

You may be right about the absence of the Crypt lockers. I'm looking forward to some firsthand research.

[violakat03]

^^Forgive me if I'm violating TOS, but the only rides I can think of that do NOT have bins (mostly due to a different loading/unloading places or due to a small station like Firehawk) are Firehawk, Flight of Fear, BLSC (there's an unofficial spot, but no bins), and The Crypt.

Contrary to popular belief, Flight of Fear DOES have a place to store loose articles. You must hand it to the ride op as they come to check your lapbar and they place it in a cubbyhole shelving unit (similar to the ones on Beast, but without a sliding cover) at the exit. They will not take purses or fanny packs due to liability (in case it has money), so I'm not sure they'd take a camera bag. You could go through the exit and place it there yourself but there is no employee watching it so I don't know that I'd trust it.

Crypt has lockers out front and zipper pockets on the back of the seat in front of you that will hold things like flip flops or sandals (it held my Crocs, even) so it might be able to handle your camera.

Firehawk has no place to store things and the ride ops can only hold prescription eyeglasses, but they will hold those for you (I've done this the one time I wore my glasses instead of contacts to the park). There are lockers near the entrance.

I think all the lockers in the main park are pay-per-use. The ones at the front gate might be daily rental now, but I don't remember for certain. You can call the park about that. The lockers in the water park are all-day rentals.

You may consider buying a smaller camera. You can get a pocket-sized digital camera for under $100 now a days (less if you can find a used one on Craigslist). I carry a Kodak Easyshare that fits very easily in a cargo pocket, and even a normal pocket. I have never had to leave it at a station, just secure it in my buttoned cargo pocket before climbing in the train.

[tigellinus]

Dang! The loose article thing was better than I thought!! (I normally don't have any)

However, losing The Crypt lockers will suck cuz those are the one's I use!! Hopefully they've been relocated nearby! (oh yeah, up-grading them to have keyless entry with credit card payment options like Six Flags would be nice as well!!)

[RailRider]

I like the thumbscan lockers at IOA at the entrance to the Hulk. Those are just awesome and work so well.

[CoastersRZ]

There also at least used to be lockers near Oktoberfest, near the entrance to Viking Fury. I believe that the lockers at the front of the park and in Oktoberfest are daily rental lockers (ie, you can get into them multiple times throughout the day). However, I believe that the lockers by Firehawk might be one time use lockers.

The best course of action to get the official policy on loose articles, as suggested above, contact the park. However, the park`s website also has this document: http://www.visitkingsisland.com/images/att...safetyguide.pdf. While that document is for the 2008 season, some of the same policies may be the same this year. One thing to note is if you wear glasses (like me), is that according to the document I cited above:

Glasses must be secured on all rides; on Vortex, Delirium, Invertigo, Flight of Fear, and Firehawk glasses must be secured by an athletic strap or they cannot be worn on the ride.

[The Interpreter]

...which is a far better policy than at Knott's Berry Farm or on Borg: Assimilator aka Nighthawk or whatever it is they call it this week (and whatever policy they have on it this week)....

[CoastersRZ]

And yes, I can attest to that as well. I had to remove my glasses on that ride, even though I had them secured with an athletic strap. I hate taking my glasses off because my vision is not great without glasses!

[The Interpreter]

Not to mention there are those whose physicians have advised not to ride without some form of eye protection. Sigh.

[IndyGuy4KI]

And yes, I can attest to that as well. I had to remove my glasses on that ride, even though I had them secured with an athletic strap. I hate taking my glasses off because my vision is not great without glasses!

I always leave my glasses in the car. I am okay without them until it comes to going to a food joint and trying to read the menu. A lot of squinting and funny looks to see what I want to eat...

[CoastersRZ]

If I try to do that, I end up getting headaches!

[The Interpreter]

If I had tried to do that, I couldn't have found the gate, or my way back to the car....

Terpy, who always had three pairs of glasses handy...one to look for his glasses with if need be!

[Cortney]

When I went on Flight of Fear they would not take my bag for me, I said there wasn't anything to value in there. So it probably would be better to leave your camera in a locker. There were lockers right there by the entrances of FoF and Firehawk.

[Ride Ops Jon]

Thanks for the quick responses, guys.

I contacted the park, and the lockers near the main entrance and Oktoberfest are all-day lockers. I really wish I could bring a smaller camera, but I am a typical "poor college student" after all, and don't have the extra money to buy a camera for the day. Besides, the pictures I hope to bring back from this should more than make up for the money spent on a locker.

I just wanted to throw something out there since I saw a few comments on it. Just because the ride hosts don't watch the bins doesn't make them unsafe, necessarily. In my three years working for Cedar Fair, not once have I ever had an issue where a guest lost something from a bin, and I've worked or been in charge of major rides such as Maverick, Shivering Timbers, maXair, and Thunderhawk. Most of the time people are in too big of a rush when they get off the ride to steal someone elses things from a bin. Better to put your stuff in the bin than to try and hide it and take it on the ride.

Again, thanks for the responses, and maybe I'll see some of you a week from Saturday!

-Jon "rideopsjon" Roost

[Atomheartmother616]

My sandals fell of on runaway reptar when I rode with my daughter. They were easily visible on the ground behind the fence. But due yo Kings Island rules which I understand they cannot go inside the fence untill park close and security must do it. Well at that point it was gonna appear I would be walking barefoot through the park. But thankfully a worker took the time to rig a long pole with a hook and fished my shoe out. I learned a lesson and was very grateful.

[tigellinus]

I just wanted to throw something out there since I saw a few comments on it. Just because the ride hosts don't watch the bins doesn't make them unsafe, necessarily. In my three years working for Cedar Fair, not once have I ever had an issue where a guest lost something from a bin, and I've worked or been in charge of major rides such as Maverick, Shivering Timbers, maXair, and Thunderhawk. Most of the time people are in too big of a rush when they get off the ride to steal someone elses things from a bin. Better to put your stuff in the bin than to try and hide it and take it on the ride.

I read on PointBuzz last year about some dude having his fanny pack jacked from the...Mantis? bin, I believe. He had his wallet, car keys and a whole bunch of other valuable stuff that sounded crazy to me to leave in a bin!!

I know I have also had stuff stolen from bins at CP...I'm trying to think what? Nothing super valuable and I think everytime it was from Raptor. I know I had a refillable bottle jacked, a stuffed animal I won for my girlfriend jacked, a 20 oz. already *opened* soda (this really -issed me off b/c I was thirsty!), and the on-ride photo from my first ever TTD ride with an ex-girlfriend from college who nowadays is ridiculously out of my league to date again...while I'm -issed about that, I still have others from that day anyway with her including Raptor.

So obviously now I'm more careful or use lockers or go out to my car. The only ride I put anything of value in a bin for is Wicked Twisted, since the theft chances are mitigated. But for WT I do put my cell phone, glasses case and wallet even all in the cubby (but keep my cash on me).

[KingCobra]

And with the rides that have multiple trains i would see it to be extremely hard for ride ops to check to see who put what where while at the same time keep the ride running safely and things like that. have never had anything stolen, but I can see how it can happen. But who in their right mind would take an opened soda...someone must have been super super thirsty

[Atomheartmother616]

My wife left her digital camera on pirates of the carribean, they stopped the ride and found it. Cheers to disney!!

[Tr0y]

Had an almost final destination moment when walking down the exit path on P305:

 

[Tr0y]

1 hour ago, Tr0y said:

Had an almost final destination moment when walking down the exit path on P305:

 

I almost got Sander’d