I have a 2011 gold pass and did the buy now pay later deal for this year. Do I need to go before opening day for processing? My 4yo and wife have the same pass. Can I process their passes for them or do they have to be present?

You can go before opening day for processing, or you can wait. If you plan on going to opening day though (and live close) I would recommend going before Opening day, as the line will be about as long for Pass processing as it will be for Diamondback. As for the kiddo and wife, they need to be there to process the pass, as their picture will need to be taken. Enjoy your year at Kings Island!!

2011? Did you do a renewal? If it's a new pass (all you have is a voucher) you need to do processing. And yes, they need to be present.

What is pass processing?

I purchased my family passes last Oct, we all went in and had pics taken and so forth.

My buddy is telling me that I need to get down there and process my pass now? does that only mean go have an updated picture?

You should be fine.

We all had 2011 gold passes and did the renewal online. Forgot to mention that. Do I still have to go early for processing?

If you did the "instant renewal", then no, you do not have to go through processing. If you printed out vouchers with barcodes, then yes, you must take those into the processing center to get new passes.

I did a renewal using buy now pay later back in December and I do have the vouchers. Guess I have to get them processed.

The best thing to do would be to call the park and get a definitive answer.

I tried twice, sat on hold for 5 minutes before getting frustrated and hanging up. I'll try again.

If you have vouchers, you need to get them processed. You can use them to get parking and to get into the park once before you process, though, so if you're planning on going opening day, you can go into the park for a while then process once the line dies down a little.