Should it be included in the admission or be seperate pay and gated(ex. Cedar Point)?

I think if they were to exspand and add some water slides they charge extra but right now I think the parks admission should cover it.

Cedar Point is much more of a resort atmosphere than KI, meaning, they can charge seperate admission for SC.

EDIT- BTW, this poll is too vague. KI & CP have such different settings, I don't think they can be compared.

If it's not broken why fix it?

Folks who can't even find a spot to stake out on a hillside and grow tired of waiting 45 minutes for a 10 second water slide might say it's broken...

It depends. With the current state the water park's in I wouldn't pay to go. But if they added more attractions, cleaned the stairs heading up to the slides, and made it easier to navigate, I probably would.

Should it be included in the admission or be seperate pay and gated(ex. Cedar Point)?

Yes.

Terp, who just HAD to.

Having recently visited Soak City at Cedar Point for a few hours on a recent trip, I have some things to say about Soak City up there. First, there is a lack of restrooms up there. Kings Island`s does not have that problem. However, it would be a hard PR sell to start charging admission for Soak City at Kings Island now. I agree that Kings Island`s Soak City could use some new slides to boost capacity. I don`t foresee any new slides coming in the next few years though, unfortunately.

Folks who can't even find a spot to stake out on a hillside and grow tired of waiting 45 minutes for a 10 second water slide might say it's broken...

And Gold passholders may say if they have to pay the system is broken.

Gold pass perks

No exclusive parking

No cooling off at Soak City

Perks only if you spend loads of money

ERT on one popular ride

Have fun selling that for $70+.

I believe passholders have had entry to the water park since it was called Water Works. Why chance losing customers by removing aa great perk and even better marketing campaign with 2 parks 1 price. Especially with HW and SS for one price and better perks.

Folks who can't even find a spot to stake out on a hillside and grow tired of waiting 45 minutes for a 10 second water slide might say it's broken...

Bingo!

Soak City should be a separate gate included with a Gold or Platinum Pass but not a regular pass. This would involve raising the price of a Gold Pass a little bit (let's say $115) and dropping the price of a regular pass (let's say $70). Now you have a real choice between pass levels instead of this "get the free parking perk for less than the cost of parking once and, oh by the way, you just got all the other perks free" nonsense. You'll get more people choosing regular passes instead of gold, and that translates into fewer people cluttering up the waterpark, which means that you can actually get off a slide, go to another slide, and get on it before you're dry. It will also alleviate some of the crowding issues in the wave pools and Splash River, making for a much more enjoyable experience. I know I would spend more time in the waterpark if they did this.

^ But how many people actually buy a regular pass vs buy a platinum/ gold pass. If more people already buy the gold/platinum pass then will you notice a different?

Worlds of Fun has a separate gated waterpark that isn't included with a regular season pass (they sell separate regular passes for WoF and OoF), but is included with a gold or platinum pass. I could easily see KI doing the same after expanding the waterpark again.

^ But how many people actually buy a regular pass vs buy a platinum/ gold pass. If more people already buy the gold/platinum pass then will you notice a different?

Ignoring the enthusiasts and travelers that are already buying platinum, I'm guessing that more people already buy gold than regular and that my plan would shift that the other way. Why? Because the price difference is so small in the spring ($5 or $10) and zero in the fall that many get gold just for the free parking, as the cost of upgrading is less than the cost of paying to park once. I proposed to widen that gap to $40–50. Now those people have to make a decision; if the cost of a season parking pass (currently $40) is less than the cost of upgrading, then the decision is whether the additional gold perks are worth it. They may decide that it's not worth the extra money to upgrade everybody in the family, so they go regular instead. That family may have spent a occasional hot afternoon in the waterpark before, but they've decided it's not worth paying an extra $10 to $50 per person (because the family would only need one parking pass) to get season-long waterpark admission as well.

So by widening the price gap, the more "casual" visitors will get regular instead of gold, thus reducing the number of people who can go into the waterpark at will. With only a reduced number of gold pass holders, platinum pass holders, and those who have purchased a waterpark-specific ticket able to get into the waterpark, you largely eliminate the problem of the general public migrating to the waterpark in early afternoon and making all the lines ridiculously long. That's the whole goal of this idea.

^

OK, but I see one small problem with your idea:

Now, all those people who would have been in the waterpark under the old system are now, likely, located in the dry park...have fun waiting a longer for Diamondback, Beast, Firehawk, FOF, etc etc. on a summer day- as well as the dry park water rides.

It better stay apart of Gold passholders' perks, because my mom hates amusement parks and the only time I go to Kings Island is if she gets to go to the waterpark (or if someone else takes me).

I believe it should stay free, but more attractions need to be added. SC has over-crowding issues and needs more attractions (path widening would be great too!) to make the park more enjoyable.