No Loose Articles in the Banshee Station

[jcgoble3]

Lets put it this way, glad to know my story stuck with one hopefully more

One trip on Maverick, guy had his phone or zippo, I wanna say phone. Anyways he had it out holding onto it and the restraint. Launch tunnel in Maverick, train banks left he looses grip, phone flies back at 70mph and hit a man a few rows back, took out his eye. Was a crazy day for the guest, the guy with the phone, and for us/security. Had EMTs, security, and gold tags all over it. Never saw the guy who had the loose article after that, popped restraints they escorted him away forcefully.

I calculated the mass a phone has at speed for just my ride. On Corkscrew, at about 35mph (about the speed it averages through the corkscrews) a phone at that speed carries the weight of a cinder block behind it. So imagine walking up the midway, look up, bam, hit in the head with a cinder block. Now think phones are larger/weigh more now, and that dive loop straight to the midway at probably 50 or so mph, gets alot more crazy.

Secure your articles or store in a bin. Not only would you lose your items of value more than likely, but you can also injure yourself and others, quite seriously. Another sidenote, a phone on TTD comes down pretty hard, sounds like a popgun going off like the ones on the CPLERR when it hits the midway. Being at Witches Wheel, seen it happen plenty of times. Heed the warnings, don't want anyone elses or your own best day to turn into an emergency trip to the ED/Surg and then someone in custody facing charges. The park does hand out charges, moreso than you think.

This is exactly why I declined to ride Banshee with the group Friday night. Having just come from being in waterparks all day, and originally intending only to watch Cirque Imagine and then leave, I was wearing ordinary jean shorts, not my cargo shorts, and as such had my phone simply clipped to my front pocket and really didn't have a way to properly secure it. Others in the group said it would be fine because of the way the restraint comes down. I elected not to take the risk and left to find something to eat instead.

[markr]

Bins are slowly leaving some rides at CP..See Maggie for instance

And that argument is slightly invalid. Raptor has an earlier dispatch point and slower dispatch from ready to all clear, but still manages to push riders through faster with bins. It's all about the hustle from guests and employees.

Its about making extra money from charging guests for lockers. KI, I still love just about everything about you but I am disappointed with you for not including bin facilities at Banshee. It does not affect me as I am single and just need my trusty cargo shorts ( half price at Penny's) to secure my lose articles. I just feel for the guests with children who need bags so that they can do their jobs as parents. There are bins at The Beast and Diamondback and this certainly does not seem to hurt capacity. If you wanted to you could have built bins at the Banshee station-I do not buy the argument that there is no room. I have addressed my concerns to Guest Services in writing. Since I did not receive a reply from you, KI, I am making public my displeasure. I hate to do this but perhaps this is the only way to make managment take notice. That being said, I want to close on a positive note by saying Thank You KI for an awesome ride and thank you again to the wonderful Banshee staff who is doing an awesome job.

[Creed Bratton]

With all due respect markr, there isn't room. I've not even been to the park yet, but have seen the layout of the station through pictures and can realize that there isn't room. To add bins, they'd have to expand the station a bit. While I appreciate your efforts to let the park know your displeasure with the lack of bins in the Banshee station, they will take note, but they won't change the fact there aren't bins.

I understand the fact that there are guests who need to bring things with them such as those with Diabetes. To those who require medical things in line and/or hydration, they need to go to Guest Services to request the ability to keep these items with them in line. It's not going to do any good for them to go, get asked to purchase a locker, then complain about how unfair they were treated because they weren't told when they got to the park they would need to purchase a locker.

In a day and age where all kinds of info is online (check out Plan Your Day on KI's website under the FAQ for loose articles), I find it hard to believe that people are so unaware that they can't bring items with them in line for Banshee. Firehawk has had this policy since it opened and there is not as huge of a public outcry as there is for Banshee. There's no difference. There isn't room in either station.

For those who have a medical condition where they may need something while in line check even though your condition may or may not be a disability: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/plan-a-visit/guests-with-disabilities

[markr]

With all due respect Hydra, if you have never actually been to the Banshee station how do you know that there is no room? From going through the station numerous times, it looks like there would be room on the left by the control room. My main point is if the park wanted to they could have built a station to accomodate bins-I never at any point said that I expected the park to totally tear down and build a new station. Lets get serious, Hydra, its all about money-if its truly not about money then I challenge the park not to charge for lockers or to offer lockers at a more reasonable price.

[Creed Bratton]

Did you not read what I wrote? I've seen the layout of the station via pictures. I've even seen it in videos when media day was going on. Also, I do know people who work in the park. those who visit daily, etc. We've discussed this at lengths. You may see room by the controls, but remember, fire codes prevent things being a certain point from any entrance and exit. I'd also bet it has to do with ADA code.

I'm sure the park thought, "hey let's make more money off this addition, not include bins in the station, add lockers and charge for them!"

I've never heard of a park offering "free lockers." Even the family friendly Holiday World charges $10 for small lockers and $15 for the large lockers. While all of their coasters have a bin type system, they're not the size of Kings Island.

I don't understand how this is such a huge issue because it's Banshee's lockers but Firehawk has the same exact policy! I just find it so hard to believe that so many people need to bring so many loose articles to the park that this is an issue. Having been on the operations side of running a coaster, loose articles - bins or not, are a hassle, they're a pain and yes they do slow down operations.

Honestly, I believe if you can't afford to put your stuff in a locker, you shouldn't bring it into a park. If you NEED something, you need to stop at Guest Services before going into the park.

In your original post markr, you said it doesn't affect you because you use cargo shorts, so why is this an issue for you? Just trying to figure out where you're coming from.

[Mrs. No Chickens]

Wow. I've seen the station many times, and was at Media Day. No, there is no room for bins. All 8 rows of people getting off Banshee, takes that whole space up when exiting. So what are you gonna do? End of story. No sense in going on and on about it, because, no, there is no room for bins. And yeah, so what if it's about the money. Pretty genius if you ask me. If you want a cheaper locker, there are $2 lockers just past Adventure Express. It's not a long walk from Banshee.

[Magenta Lizard]

Even if KI is doing it to make money on lockers, good for them. They managed to take something that is an obstacle to quick operation, an annoyance for other riders and for the ride ops, and turn it into a way to make money. Congratulations, that is some good business sense.

I won't personally be spending money on the lockers, the same as I won't buy much food in-park. I don't begrudge them making money off of those who are willing to pay and unwilling to adapt.

I feel it is sort of like the season pass/ Fast Lane dichotomy. The more people who have passes, the more people in the park. The more people in the park, the more willing more occasional visitors will be to buy Fast Lane. Considering a day with Fast Lane costs about the same as my season pass did, I'm perfectly willing to trade off having to occasionally wait a little longer personally. I feel like the offset costs of those Fast Lane purchases subsidizes my having a full season of entertainment for very little money.

The more money the park makes, the more fun it can potentially be. Banshee wasn't cheap.

[upstop]

_{I don't like tripping over the piles of sandals and thongs stacked up near the exits to the Banshee station.}

[LoraX]

I have said it before, I was against the no bins initially. We took a back pack in every visit until this year. I now wish the entire park would be bin free. The cost is minimal for locker rental. It speeds up the entire process to load/unload rides. It is less chaos.

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[Hoeter]

How much more reasonable in price do you want them to be?

Hell, I think $1 an hour or however much their charging is fine. Put your stuff in the locker, ride Banshee, end the rental, and head to rides that have bins...

[markr]

One more post and I will put this to rest.

Why do I care about the bin policy if it does not affect me? Because I care about other people and believe in sticking up for them. Is there anything wrong with that?

And the last time I was at Holiday World, they indeed provided free lockers at Pilgrim's Plunge unless they changed the policy. I know KI is not Holiday world but just wanted to make sure we got the facts straight.

I have been going to KI since it opened in 1972 and other parks as well and I am not so naive as to think unnecessary charges are not going to occur-parks want to get as much loot into the kitty as possible and that is simply a fact of life. I am simply asking that we just be honest about the motives for the lack of bins at the Banshee station. It is about making extra money for lockers. Maybe its right, maybe its wrong but lets be honest about the motives. If the park did not want to make that extra money for lockers I feel that they would have designed the stations for bins.

Let me close by saying that I love KI and have always gone out of my way to complement all of the wonderful employees. I am in general a very positive person and others in general find me to be positive because of the way I treat others.

PS I saw your post Andrew and I think $2 the first hour and $1 per hour thereafter is pretty pricy.

[Hoeter]

I really don't think it's a bad deal if you just rent it for a couple hours. I won't rent a locker for the full day, that's where it gets expensive.

Firehawk is one of those rides that has the same type locker and price structure. I will not ride with things in my zip pockets on Firehawk.

[Oldschool75]

I prefer my pocket belt(not a fanny pack, much smaller). Holds just my keys, phone and cards; and is looped through my belt loops. Double zipped and water proof pouch.

[Mrs. No Chickens]

I prefer my pocket belt(not a fanny pack, much smaller). Holds just my keys, phone and cards; and is looped through my belt loops. Double zipped and water proof pouch.

Where did you get that lol?

[Creed Bratton]

I care about people too and I either tell them to leave their stuff in their car or a locker. I tell them if they can't afford a $2 locker here and there then maybe they shouldn't visit the park if they have to have things with them.

I didn't state that Kings Island was Holiday World. If you read what I wrote, I was saying that I've not heard of a park that offers lockers free and that even Holiday World (a park known for free things) does charge for lockers.

Who are we to know the motives of a Multi-Million(billion?) and how they obtain money. They're not hurting anyone, they're not providing false information about charging for lockers and they're not saying they're free to then charge for them. We can't be honest about the motives because as far as I know, neither of us work at the park and deal with budgets or the pricing of things around the park.

Do you think the park would have done the same thing with Firehawk if they weren't worried about charging for lockers, to make the station bigger? This question still seems to be missed by you markr, why is there no uproar over Firehawk's charging of lockers?

Think of designing of the station from the park's standpoint, do we build a station just big enough to help increase capacity or do we make it big to allow bins that have been known to slow down capacity and we have to do more design changes to comply with ADA and Fire codes.

I get that you're a very nice and positive because the way you treat others, but honestly this is something so trivial that everyone has control over and it's so upsetting to you from what I've read because you care about people. Sometimes you've got to be real with people you care about and if they complain about having to buy a locker, you may need to tell them either leave it in their car, pay a mere $2 or don't come to the park. I get that the economy is tough right now, but each and every single person has control of what they can and can't do. If they can't afford a locker, then maybe they need to cut the cost of a locker from somewhere else like their Netflix account, maybe they shouldn't carry an iPhone 5s, etc.

[Jr for Birdy]

Dear Kings Island, please terminate all bins located in your ride stations! ... Jr.. who would pay extra for this attraction.

[Tr0y]

Banshee not having bins, swayed me from buying this years souviner cup at the park due to the fact i wont have a place to put it, without having to pay the price of the drink itself for a locker. Ive been drinking alot of free water because of it.

[Oldschool75]

I prefer my pocket belt(not a fanny pack, much smaller). Holds just my keys, phone and cards; and is looped through my belt loops. Double zipped and water proof pouch.

Where did you get that lol?

REI in Rookwood

This is what I have.

http://www.rei.com/product/829847/mountainsmith-vibe-tls-waistpack

But there are others, I thought about this one.

http://www.rei.com/product/843404/nathan-reflective-runners-belt

[geebs11]

Lets put it this way, glad to know my story stuck with one hopefully more

One trip on Maverick, guy had his phone or zippo, I wanna say phone. Anyways he had it out holding onto it and the restraint. Launch tunnel in Maverick, train banks left he looses grip, phone flies back at 70mph and hit a man a few rows back, took out his eye. Was a crazy day for the guest, the guy with the phone, and for us/security. Had EMTs, security, and gold tags all over it. Never saw the guy who had the loose article after that, popped restraints they escorted him away forcefully.

I calculated the mass a phone has at speed for just my ride. On Corkscrew, at about 35mph (about the speed it averages through the corkscrews) a phone at that speed carries the weight of a cinder block behind it. So imagine walking up the midway, look up, bam, hit in the head with a cinder block. Now think phones are larger/weigh more now, and that dive loop straight to the midway at probably 50 or so mph, gets alot more crazy.

Secure your articles or store in a bin. Not only would you lose your items of value more than likely, but you can also injure yourself and others, quite seriously. Another sidenote, a phone on TTD comes down pretty hard, sounds like a popgun going off like the ones on the CPLERR when it hits the midway. Being at Witches Wheel, seen it happen plenty of times. Heed the warnings, don't want anyone elses or your own best day to turn into an emergency trip to the ED/Surg and then someone in custody facing charges. The park does hand out charges, moreso than you think.

Thanks for sharing devarious. I guess I never really thought of it in this context.

I'd never lost an article in hundreds of rides....but...2 nights ago...I did (even after 60 Banshee rides)

to update that...I checked the lost and found this morning (nothing) - they told me its possible that it could be in the station and was found this morning.

So, I went to the Banshee station this morning...and low and behold...they had my cellphone (covered in mud) and my season pass stuck inside the cellphone case (covered in mud)

But, I recovered it...and it actually WORKED. It's a miracle after the rain we got that night....

But, it'll teach me to make sure I wear my cargo shorts...and not my gym shorts.

[Jr for Birdy]

Banshee not having bins, swayed me from buying this years souviner cup at the park due to the fact i wont have a place to put it, without having to pay the price of the drink itself for a locker. Ive been drinking alot of free water because of it.

That's a good thing, drink water, it's hydrating you. Grab a soda on the ride home.

[Oldschool75]

Banshee not having bins, swayed me from buying this years souviner cup at the park due to the fact i wont have a place to put it, without having to pay the price of the drink itself for a locker. Ive been drinking alot of free water because of it.

That's a good thing, drink water, it's hydrating you. Grab a soda on the ride home.

What is this "soda" you are talking about? I drink pop. lol

[jcgoble3]

I've never heard of a park offering "free lockers." Even the family friendly Holiday World charges $10 for small lockers and $15 for the large lockers. While all of their coasters have a bin type system, they're not the size of Kings Island.

Holiday World does in fact have lockers in the stations of all three woodies, all three water rides (on the main side of the park, not in the waterpark), Sparkler, and HallowSwings that are free while you ride. Also, lockers at Universal (excluding those at water rides) are free for the posted wait time of the attraction they are located at plus a buffer of 20 to 30 minutes.

[The Interpreter]

And the capacity of all three woodies at Holiday World suffers as riders and ride attendants stow and retrieve stuff and lock and unlock the lockers.

If Holiday World in rural Indiana finds it necessary or advisable to let people lock stuff up in the station while riding, that should tell you something about the safety and security of leaving stuff in bins in stations at parks.

[shark6495]

Universal Studios offers free lockers... If the posted time is 60 minutes try give you 90 minutes.

As of 2 years ago these lockers were located at the entrance of every single ride....

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[Webble78]

My only complaint about the lockers is there aren't enough. At peak times of day I've seen people wait for them to empty or just put their stuff on the ground.

For the record, as I use the locker every time, they are auto for 2 hours at $2. You can change it though. You can add time or take it down to just an hour. You are paying a dollar an hour. I put my stuff in the locker then go ride all the rides in Action Zone then get my stuff.

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[thegajone]

Banshee not having bins, swayed me from buying this years souviner cup at the park due to the fact i wont have a place to put it, without having to pay the price of the drink itself for a locker. Ive been drinking alot of free water because of it.

That's a good thing, drink water, it's hydrating you. Grab a soda on the ride home.

So now we're promoting the idea of not spending money at the park for things that are bad for you? I hope K I officials aren't reading this.

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[thedevariouseffect]

Makr,

If you have something that needs stowed, leave with a non rider and split the group, or fork out $1 to $2 dollars for a locker, plain and simple.

If you can't and refuse to spend $2 on a locker, wow.

Paid $200 for a season pass, bet you thought that was a deal.

[thedaveyboyshow]

Personally, I think the locker rental is reasonable. Heck, the locker rental at Kings Island is exactly the same as it is at my local roller rink! I also am amazed at how quickly the line moves for Banshee. I do not have the facts and figures to back anything up, but I have a gut feeling that the continual movement in line and contantly seeing trains on the tracks has to be due in part to the no bin policy. I have "bin" nothing but pleased with this policy.

[LoraX]

I am going out on a limb and presume the profits over time would be greater on lockers than cups. Once the lockers have generated enough money that they are paid for, the rest is profit. Cups have a consistent overhead cost associated with each purchase Kings Island makes.

Of course, a company may pay to rent a space and maintain lockers as well which means no overhead cost at all for Kings Island, just profit from renting otherwise unused space.

I am sure there are other angles to look at it.

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[KI FANATIC 37]

The people that are saying their is not enough room for bins in Banshee's station are completely out of their mind. We are not talking about cargo bins here people, we are talking about small bins to hold draw sting backpacks. They have plenty of room. And I am a little bit displeased with the price if lockers by Banshee. I bought a locker in opening day to out my on ride photo and t shirt and ended up paying 8 dollars for it. I love Banshee but I do think it is just another ridiculous way for the park to squeeze every last penny from you. I know it is an amusement park but $8 locker rental pushes me over the edge.