Christian Posted April 4, 2004 Share Posted April 4, 2004 First, the weather wasn't that bad, so that had little to nothing to do with it. 1. Too many rides were closed. The park was desolate but it didn't really matter because there were only a hand full of rides open. 2. Tomb Raider is not only not changed, its also not fixed. The problems they were having with it at the beginning of the season last year still haven't been fixed. They have had five months. There is no excuse for that. NONE. Pitly little things too like the door not working, industrial lights staying on, lack of fog. Then there were the biggies: blacklights not working, The eyes on the Shiva didn't work (haven;t for two seasons's) the sparks (also for two seasons) the timing in the preshow rooms, the gels on the lights in the lava pit aren't on right (they beam white light instead of red) there was way too much light in the ride room itself, the front headlights didn't go off at the beginning of the ride, and neither the first nor the third rows were operational. The biggest: the employees were DEAD! WORST CREW i've experienced at ANY theme park. 3.The Beasts "added effects" weren't on. They just didn't work. No real reason. 4. FoF broke down "indefinetly" after the ride op's looked at a seat and deemed it brokendown. Worst day at PKI ever! I will never go to a pass preview again! My friend (who accompanied me) and I are calling the manager and we will keep trying until we get her on the phone. The stuff that happened on TR today was disgusting to say the least and showed that PKI really needs to re-prioritize and get there act together. We don't care if they don't listen to us but something has to be said and those little complaint sheets at customer service are obviously being used for target practice as dart boards, they are not cutting it. AT least this way we know that we were heard and that they know the guests are not happy, because today they proved to us that they obviously don't. Thanks for letting me vent. I'll be good now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby_Doo Posted April 4, 2004 Share Posted April 4, 2004 I dont wanna Be mean or anything but almost every SeasonPass Day i have been to pretty much Sucked...Last year i had a bad feeling Not to go on seasonpass day but i went anyway Because i REALLY REALLY REALLY wanted to Ride Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle and when i got at the park it was Jam Packed! I was pretty PO'ED at PKI it seems like every season pass preview day they let it go to Crap! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murphz Posted April 4, 2004 Share Posted April 4, 2004 3.The Beasts "added effects" weren't on. They just didn't work. No real reason. What added effects are you talking about? The only thing I heard about was the signs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRickster Posted April 4, 2004 Share Posted April 4, 2004 In the emplyee's defense it was the first day for alot of them. Noone has gotten into their groove. I got into mine right away but everyone else on the crew except for josh seemed to be alittle bit nervous about it still and were quiet when I was there. These day's are to get employee's ready for the season most part so I gurantee if you go back in a month it will be like a completly diffrent crew. I could tell a diffrence in the morning then in the evening. With beast how everyones attitudes went from nervous to excited. But the other stuff is true and it was just a preview day so they have till friday to get them working for the most part. The sfx on beast were off and on all day not really sure what was going on with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKI Punk Posted April 4, 2004 Share Posted April 4, 2004 I was there and the one time I rode The Beast, I heard the roar/growls when the train pulled out of the station. That was the only effect I experienced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted April 4, 2004 Share Posted April 4, 2004 I went today with Rick, Dan, Ryan, Nathan and we had a great time. And The Beast effects worked for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airguy06 Posted April 4, 2004 Share Posted April 4, 2004 In the parks defense, there are reasons for malfunctions in rides or special features not working. The park isnt even open yet, meaning they havent tweaked everything to perfection yet. They have another 5 days to do so. Also, it was a SNEAK PREVIEW. Today was just a day to see what is in store for the season, hense sneak preview. They expect you to come back during the season to see them in full bloom. Dont get mad over it, excuse it and if you cant, she keep saying to yourself, sneak preview sneak preview, things are allowed to happen, but during the season and those things arent working, yea call the manager, go to the manager. There is no reason during the season. Everyone keeps forgetting that they are lucky to have the park open for them a week in advance for a day to preview the rides and attractions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRickster Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Yea they dont just open it early for that reason. People buying tickets would be extremly ticked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOB/Gun Steve-O Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 1. Too many rides were closed. The park was desolate but it didn't really matter because there were only a hand full of rides open. The rides at Kings Island are designed to run when its WARM out - not when its 40 degrees. That's why they were closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterrz Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 I understand why the rides were closed. However, the park wasn`t exactly deserted. I was extremly mad when i found out the park would close at 5 instead of the scheduled 8. I understand that they did this becuase of the cold, and the fact that they wouldn`t be making enough money off of food and games to cover the expenses of an additional three hours. I don`t think that should be an excuse. I worked at Coney island one day last year when the park was deserted because it was cool, and drizzling. I was on breaks and only 2 people rode the pedal boats in half an hour and we only ran the Ferris Wheel three times in an hour as there were no picnics or anybody in the park. However, we stayed open because Coney`s GM said that 'we said we would be open to a certain time so we were going to stay open until that time, even if we loose money.' Other than closing early, which only enabled me to squeeze in an hour and a half up at PKI I still got six rides in. Inclusing two walk on rides at Delirium to end the day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0-120 Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 See that, it's only as fun as you make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterrz Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Yes, I did have fun during my brief stay at the park. However, my point was that the park only closed early because they were looking out for their bottom line. The reason Coney stayed open was because our GM wanted the guests to have the luxury of staying until the time we were supposed to close, even if that meant we would loose money for a couple hours. PKI, today cared more about closing the park rather than running the park for a loss (which is why they closed early, even though a majority of the rides were already closed because of the cold) and giving its season pass holders a good first impression of the park for the season, and allowing them to experience the park until its scheduled closing hour. Also, I did not witness any new effect on The Beast. I did see the many new signs, which are cool. However the speakers on the lift hills were silent. Additionally, there was no documentary video playing in The Beast`s line. Does anyone know why that video wasn`t playing like a newspaper article a while back said it would be? I was just kind of disappointed by the fact that the park was closing early. I had fun, but the decision to close the park early does not sit well with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scooby_Doo Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 I agree with you 110% Man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PkiJake13 Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 I was mad about the closing at Five O'Clock too. Also I couldn't beleave the steal coasters weren't running. In November of 2002 it was about the same conditions and the steals were open. I guess SOB was closed cause of the wind. I'm not going to hold this day against them, today was more of a test for the crews. Some people I heard today made me mad, because of there complaing. To me you have a season pass, you can come back all year. -Jake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwware Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 when you goto a sneak preview of a movie, they dont only show just half of the movie, they show you the entire thing! Yes, i totally understand why some coasters were not working today, but to have a sneak preview and not even having the rides new FX running seems just wrong to me. Pretty much the only reason I went today was to see what they did to The Beast, and from what little noise it made, it sounded more like The Beastie! Come on PKI, if your going to have a Sneak Preview of something, at least have something for us to "preview"!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swampmonster Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 However, my point was that the park only closed early because they were looking out for their bottom line. Every business looks out for their bottom line, even Coney. They cared about their guests having a good time because if they didn't, they wouldn't come back and Coney would suffer. As much as we would all like to think that people always have the wishes and feelings of others at heart, you have to realize that they have a business to run; sometimes what helps the business helps you, and sometimes it doesn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenageninja Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Here's my take on the situation, KI uses these days to get the crews ready for the operating season, the season where people pay for a one day ticket. Now in defense of the ride closings, they do it for your safety, I am pretty sure Vortex would have valleyed today if they tried to open it, and Action Zone is still having trouble from yesterday. I don't blame the park for closing early, sure Coney may have stayed open a few hours before, but think of how many employees KI had working today. Like a couple hundred, Coney Island doesn't even have a hundred I'm sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted April 5, 2004 Author Share Posted April 5, 2004 I agree with Bwware, Scooby_Doo and CoasterRz. If its a preview, it should show what the park is going to be like that season and what we can expect for opening day. With the park itself, Tomb Raider, and The Beast, the 2004 season is looking....dismal, at best. They have one week. They need to pull off a number of major miracles in order to have the park ready. And thats an understatement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Kinda Guy Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 First, the weather wasn't that bad, so that had little to nothing to do with it. 1. Too many rides were closed. The park was desolate but it didn't really matter because there were only a hand full of rides open. 2. Tomb Raider is not only not changed, its also not fixed. The problems they were having with it at the beginning of the season last year still haven't been fixed. They have had five months. There is no excuse for that. NONE. Pitly little things too like the door not working, industrial lights staying on, lack of fog. Then there were the biggies: blacklights not working, The eyes on the Shiva didn't work (haven;t for two seasons's) the sparks (also for two seasons) the timing in the preshow rooms, the gels on the lights in the lava pit aren't on right (they beam white light instead of red) there was way too much light in the ride room itself, the front headlights didn't go off at the beginning of the ride, and neither the first nor the third rows were operational. The biggest: the employees were DEAD! WORST CREW i've experienced at ANY theme park. 3.The Beasts "added effects" weren't on. They just didn't work. No real reason. 4. FoF broke down "indefinetly" after the ride op's looked at a seat and deemed it brokendown. Worst day at PKI ever! I will never go to a pass preview again! My friend (who accompanied me) and I are calling the manager and we will keep trying until we get her on the phone. The stuff that happened on TR today was disgusting to say the least and showed that PKI really needs to re-prioritize and get there act together. We don't care if they don't listen to us but something has to be said and those little complaint sheets at customer service are obviously being used for target practice as dart boards, they are not cutting it. AT least this way we know that we were heard and that they know the guests are not happy, because today they proved to us that they obviously don't. Thanks for letting me vent. I'll be good now. 1. It has to be above 40 degrees I do believe for steel coasters to run and with the wind, it was well below that all day. We don't control mother nature, so deal with it. 2. Every department involved with the ride has been bustin their asses off lately trying to get TR to work. They don't have time for every little detail. Hell, your lucky the ride even ran at all this weekend. They will get fixed, give them time and then you can ride your precious Tomb Raider. 3. Maybe you missed them? I rode Beast on Saturday and they were very much on. 4. So now you questioning the judgement of the employees that WORK ON THE RIDE? When you have an idea of knowing what your doing as a ride operator, then you can question their judgement. Seriously, you have no basis for complaining here on any of your complaints. So until you know what your talking about, it's best to keep quiet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aero11 Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 I had a fun day, but I was upset with TR:TR. It still needs a ton of work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swampmonster Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 I agree with Bwware, Scooby_Doo and CoasterRz. If its a preview, it should show what the park is going to be like that season and what we can expect for opening day. With the park itself, Tomb Raider, and The Beast, the 2004 season is looking....dismal, at best. They have one week. They need to pull off a number of major miracles in order to have the park ready. And thats an understatement. If thats the case, I hope that this is the last Season Pass Preview day. What you guys really want is to come in opening day with the park to yourselves, and I sure don't want to have to wait an extra week for that to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted April 5, 2004 Author Share Posted April 5, 2004 AZ KINDA_GUY, as a paying customer of a major themepark, I expect to get what I pay for. Obviously I have offended you and you obviously work at PKI ( or have at one point). The only thing I have to say about that is: If you don't want to hear the complaints then don't give us anything to complain about. I know it takes a lot to run a themepark. If they decided not to open Tomb Raider today because they had to do repairs and get it in top working condition for the real opening day, then I would have been perfectly ok with that. In fact, I would have preferred it to be closed if it was truly that much trouble just to get it running. This would have allowed the park some extra time to do the major work that the ride obviously needs. The same goes for any ride which was open today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Kinda Guy Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 AZ KINDA_GUY, as a paying customer of a major themepark, I expect to get what I pay for. Obviously I have offended you and you obviously work at PKI ( or have at one point). The only thing I have to say about that is: If you don't want to hear the complaints then don't give us anything to complain about. I know it takes a lot to run a themepark. If they decided not to open Tomb Raider today because they had to do repairs and get it in top working condition for the real opening day, then I would have been perfectly ok with that. In fact, I would have preferred it to be closed if it was truly that much trouble just to get it running. This would have allowed the park some extra time to do the major work that the ride obviously needs. The same goes for any ride which was open today. I know it takes a lot to run a themepark Obviously you don't or you wouldn't have been complaining about the weather. If they decided not to open Tomb Raider today because they had to do repairs and get it in top working condition for the real opening day, then I would have been perfectly ok with that. Yeah right. Just like you were "perfectly ok" with the ride ops shutting down FoF because they found the ride not fit to run? In fact, I would have preferred it to be closed if it was truly that much trouble just to get it running. Again, you don't get it. Close the ride, when half the coasters are down already, or run it just not with the effects at 100%? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CYoung2003 Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Ok, here is my two cents in this matter. It was a PREVIEW day. On a preview day, not all rides and attractions are guarenteed to be running and all the theming on rides might not be working right right away. THEY WILL WORK IN TIME. Remember this was the first weekend of the season, jeez your acting like its July or something. Like Sparky said, they worked there asses off getting Tomb Raider ready to at least run for this weekend. I know they worked hard because originally I heard it wasnt supposed to run but they worked hard at making sure that it did. The coasters must be shut down for cold, nothing else needs to be said. Just chill out, there will be other chances, hence why you bought a season pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted April 5, 2004 Author Share Posted April 5, 2004 I'm not fighting with you. I am giving you a response from the customers point of view, again, if you don't like it then change it. In fact, I would have preferred it to be closed if it was truly that much trouble just to get it running. your response: Again, you don't get it. Close the ride, when half the coasters are down already, or run it just not with the effects at 100%? What you are asking us to do is to settle for "we're doing the best we can" and for just an OK or GOOD themepark. I refuse to do so. I hold PKI to a very high standard. In fact, if the ride is open, the effects and theming should always be at 100%, If you can't get it up to 100% then close it until you can. TR's effects were not at 50% much less 100. I am appreciatative that they got it open and for the work, but if it was really that much trouble then they should have kept it closed and kept working on it. They've had five months. There is no excuse that can justify , if what you both are saying is true, it being in that bad of condition. none. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOB/Gun Steve-O Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Sparky's not the only one who works there, dude. There's got to be at least ten PKI employees who post here regularly, including myself. And when you openly say that we're not doing stuff right, we get kind of mad. So I have the following to say: 1) We don't control the theming 2) When a ride is shut down, it is shut down for a reason - usually to protect you! 3) A ride is always closed "indefinitely." NOBODY at PKI is permitted to give you a timeframe as to when a ride will reopen after a malfunction - generally because we very rarely know. 4) It was snowing this morning - what the heck were you thinking when you decided to come? 5 and finally) There is a reason its called "preview day." There. I'm done. I apologize for any inconvience your day or this post may have caused you. Have a nice day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solid Snake Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 You both might as well stop fighting over what could of been done and what should of been done. Because neither one of you are gonna give in and convince each other that your idea or way of thought is the right one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelixSpiral Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 The lights not going out in Tomb Raider immediately is intentional, not a malfunction to be fixed. The lights will NEVER go out immediately again. Also, the weather forecast said the temperature was going to be cold today for several days. Having steel coasters closed in the cold is nothing new at any park. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy your day at KI. But you of course have the freedom to not go there anymore if you're not satisfied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ Kinda Guy Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 What you are asking us to do is to settle for "we're doing the best we can" and for just an OK or GOOD themepark. I refuse to do so. I hold PKI to a very high standard. In fact, if the ride is open, the effects and theming should always be at 100%, If you can't get it up to 100% then close it until you can. TR's effects were not at 50% much less 100. What you are asking us to do is to settle for "we're doing the best we can" and for just an OK or GOOD themepark. We did the best we could given the circumstances. I hold PKI to a very high standard. And I'm happy you do. If it was Six Flags, even more rides would have been closed. In fact, if the ride is open, the effects and theming should always be at 100% I guess you missed that light out in the load station at FoF then while you were busy complaining about the ride operators decision. If you can't get it up to 100% then close it until you can. The rides are run mechanically and electrically at 100% other then the seats that get tied off every now and then for various reasons. Delirium and SlingShot didn't have water coolers at all this weekend. Does that mean we shut the ride down? No. TR's effects were not at 50% much less 100. Again, it's PREVIEW WEEKEND. You can complain all you want. I'm just trying to show you, you have no SOLID reason to have had the "worst day ever." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magic41445 Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 Today wasnt the best of days a PKI for me either...due to a tight schedule I arrived at 4 and spent about a half an hour, so the early closing didn't phase me much. With what little time I spent, I was able to observe some of the negatives mentioned in previous posts. Yes, i was as concerned as many of you but what i was surprised not to hear were any positives in relation to finally shaking off the winter blues. For me, what i took away from today was the smile that I got from riding FOF for the first time this year. Now if I paid full price and received the same treatement then yes I would be a bit more ticked off...but for us passholders there are many more hopefully better days ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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