Things that KI can improve on

[SonofBaconator]

A little theming could go a long way

 

[IndyGuy4KI]

That would give something new for the guys on the mic to talk/joke about.

[MDMC01]

When I rode the train on Saturday, I very much enjoyed the very corny jokes, some of which took me a second to get... 

[SonofBaconator]

53 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

That would give something new for the guys on the mic to talk/joke about.

"Those deer just had their meal so they might look a little stuffed"

In all honesty, I don't know why the park decided to abandon a huge chunk of the theming. Even when Water Works was built, Taft kept as much theming as they could. 

[Creed Bratton]

1 hour ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

That would give something new for the guys on the mic to talk/joke about.

Please don't give them any more ideas....it's already annoying lol

[IndyGuy4KI]

1 minute ago, chugh43 said:

Please don't give them any more ideas....it's already annoying lol

I don't see that going away, so in that case we need some new ones!

[Creed Bratton]

But it needs to...that's something that KI can improve on!

[SonofBaconator]

44 minutes ago, chugh43 said:

But it needs to...that's something that KI can improve on!

When I ride the train, I don't want to hear about the Guardian's of the Galaxy. I understand they're trying to be "trendy" and appeal to younger audiences but the train can be seen as more than just a transport ride. Year after year the original charm of the railroad has weakened and seems to be more of a gimmick. A some animals and some extra theming wouldn't be a costly investment on the park's part and could prove very popular. Plus the conductors wouldn't have make up jokes about holes in fences and Kanye West. 

Then

Now

[Creed Bratton]

38 minutes ago, SonofBaconator said:

When I ride the train, I don't want to hear about the Guardian's of the Galaxy. I understand they're trying to be "trendy" and appeal to younger audiences but the train can be seen as more than just a transport ride. Year after year the original charm of the railroad has weakened and seems to be more of a gimmick. A some animals and some extra theming wouldn't be a costly investment on the park's part and could prove very popular. Plus the conductors wouldn't have make up jokes about holes in fences and Kanye West. 

I guess my struggle with it aside from the jokes are that it's just noise. The music is nice...but it's just noise. 

I don't understand why Kings Island has a "let's entertain the guest" feel on the train while they ride it and other parks in the chain don't......Cedar Point, nothing but silence from their crew until the train is nearing or arrived in a station (they also have animatronics on one half of the route which if guests want entertained this fulfills that desire) and Dorney Park is nothing but informational (they give the history of the park/rides and then give information about happenings at the park throughout the season). I'm not sure if other parks in the chain have a train and what they do.

I remember one trip this summer riding the train, the guy doing the spieling was telling really awful jokes...like had no relevance to the train, to the park or anything. I looked at those I was with and we all had this look of "Please make it stop." 

I may be in the minority...but I truly find our train featuring music and spieling that is overdone annoying. It'd be nice to be in the park where you're not being talked at through a microphone and a speaker. I don't believe every experience in the park has to be entertaining....sometimes a quiet (aside from guests talking) moment in a park is the best way to recharge for the next portion of your day at a park. 

[SonofBaconator]

@chugh43 Also if you notice the locomotives have been a lot quieter. I remember in the more recent years the engineers used to blast the whistle whenever they got the chance. I used to be able to hear the whistles from the end of the parking lot. Now anymore it seems like the whistles have changed their chime to a lower pitch. 

[Creed Bratton]

Yeah, I've not heard them as much recently in the parking lot.....but I still hear them. I just think they need to make the ride experience itself a quiet ride. 

I'm imagining for Winterfest: "If you look to your left, you'll see our resident bear, polar bear" or "if you look to your right, wave to our very own Coke sponsored Polar Bear." Of course I'm also imagining, "Above us, below us and all around us, you'll see Diamondback our tallest, fastest and meanest roller coaster that came in to Kings Island at the cost of $22 million! It's not currently open, but return in the spring to ride." 

Like none of that is necessary....don't say anything, let me enjoy the views around me and relax. 

Of course, then I imagine if Cedar Point were to do the spieling on their train (all in fast speech).... "You'll see on your left our very own ghost town where some residents are still hanging around putting out a fire oooooh and look to your left now for Rougarou opened in 2015, originally opened in 1996 as Mantis....a former standup coaster. Rougarou is a floorless coaster." On your right, you'll see Millennium Force, opened in 2000 at a cost of $25 million........we're now arriving at the station please remain seated until I instruct you it is safe to exit....." Or "On the right you'll see Maverick with a 95° first drop, originally slated to have a heartline roll but it was removed prior to opening...oh and look to your left....you'll see construction on our new for 2018 attraction, Steel Vengeance....it's the first Hyper-Hybrid Coaster reaching 205' tall.....with a 90° vertical drop, 4 inversions.....we're now arriving at the station please remain seated until I instruct you it is safe to exit...."

[SonofBaconator]

On 3/6/2017 at 7:29 PM, calakapepe said:

Yes. I think we all wish KI was a flagship park still sometimes~
We used to have two 200+ but.... lol

Alpengeist is literally 5 feet away from 200ft. Why not go the extra 5? Did 200ft sound too scary for a ghost themed coaster?

[Tr0y]

On 10/3/2017 at 0:36 PM, SonofBaconator said:

@chugh43 Also if you notice the locomotives have been a lot quieter. I remember in the more recent years the engineers used to blast the whistle whenever they got the chance. I used to be able to hear the whistles from the end of the parking lot. Now anymore it seems like the whistles have changed their chime to a lower pitch. 

I think there has just been a lot more noise pollution drowning out the whistle, with the addition of Diamondback and especially the addition of Mystic Timbers. Now all I typically hear from the parking lot on that side is that noise Mystic Timbers blast at the top of the hill before the drop.

[Saerenzea]

MT makes an awesome sound on that first drop. Last time I was there we ate at the Potato Works and just listened to it. 

[dtk1378]

It was nice riding the train with no spieling during WinterFest, maybe they'll keep that But my money is on it coming back in Spring...

[Creed Bratton]

I so agree @dtk1378. I really really enjoy the lack of spieling! 

[westcoaster]

Like river town move as well.. add some tree top nostalgia and maybe a show building.. 

[westcoaster]

Food

Dark rides

Dark rides

 

Be huge for Kings Island 

 

For Soak City a couple moire family slides, water coasters etc. 

 

 

 

[SonofBaconator]

3 hours ago, westcoaster said:

Maybe a show building.. 

A country show or something along those lines would be awesome for the upcoming seasons

[flightoffear1996]

A show building in rivertown with a western show would be awesome.  They could even use the old Crypt building.

[SonofBaconator]

On 10/3/2017 at 10:37 AM, chugh43 said:

Please don't give them any more ideas....it's already annoying lol

Wanna hear awesome ride commentary? Watch this video

Fair warning, some parts are now seen as politically incorrect so be mature or I'll have to check your privilege. 

[MDMC01]

I've seen that video; interesting history of the ride/attraction as well as on-ride audio from when it was in operation.

[Skyrider]

Wish the shows during the summer were as plentiful and done as well as the ones I have seen at Winterfest. I like the addition of the theatre in the sitting area behind Skyline in Coney Mall.  Winterfest entertainment reminds me more of the entertainment Kings Island had back the 70s and 80s.  I enjoy the rides but enjoy the show too and more show options would attract a larger base of people not just ones that like only rides.  Are the entertainers at Winterfest local?  They seem different from the regular entertainers I see in the summer.

[shark6495]

This may have been said before but they need to really overhaul the sound in the Festhaus.  Tinker's show was amazing... but the audio echoes mightly bad in there. I noticed it during the summer as well.  It feels like the music is too loud compared to the voices....

[Captain Nemo]

Add air fresheners to Festhaus... For an eatery it smells horrid.

[LoadAndGo]

Preventative maintenance. KI really needs to reinvest in the basics of running an amusement park. It seems that things are only repaired once they break, if they are fixed at all. It blows my mind that KI spends tens of millions of dollars on new attractions, while they let older attractions decay. There are multiple sections of the park that are simply embarrassing. If the park reinvested in existing attractions, I really think that the guest experience would be improved more so than adding a new coaster.

[Creed Bratton]

7 hours ago, LoadAndGo said:

Preventative maintenance. KI really needs to reinvest in the basics of running an amusement park. It seems that things are only repaired once they break, if they are fixed at all. It blows my mind that KI spends tens of millions of dollars on new attractions, while they let older attractions decay. There are multiple sections of the park that are simply embarrassing. If the park reinvested in existing attractions, I really think that the guest experience would be improved more so than adding a new coaster.

Do you have specific examples? 

As far as preventative maintenance, they have maintenance teams there 24 hours a day working on rides, trains, etc. to ensure they are safe to operate. 

[LoadAndGo]

35 minutes ago, chugh43 said:

Do you have specific examples? 

As far as preventative maintenance, they have maintenance teams there 24 hours a day working on rides, trains, etc. to ensure they are safe to operate. 

Absolutely! First of all, KI's maintenance department is not there 24 hours a day, and they are reactive not proactive -- they only fix things once they break. I'm not talking about ride safety, however. I have full confidence on that front.

I'm talking about the more nuanced, finer details. Yes the park operates, but how efficiently does it operate and to what level of quality does it operate? Take AE for example. Nothing has been done to that ride's theming since the day it opened. The park should freshen up everything during the off season instead of simply leaving it sit until next season.

When Cedar Fair bought the park, they simply ripped out the Paramount IP and left the rest to rot. There isn't anyone who's job it is to ensure a quality, immersive experience across all attractions. You shouldn't be able to guess an attraction's age based on its state of decay.

It's a lot of little things that keep falling through the cracks that amount to a large issue in aggregate. You shouldn't be able to see backstage areas from the midways. You shouldn't be able to see outside of the park from the middle of AZ. There isn't enough thought put behind what the park looks and feels like from a guest's perspective.

[Creed Bratton]

It may not be 24 hours but they are there pretty darn late after the park closes and pretty darn early before the park opens. 

They don't just fix things once they break....They replace wheels, they replace seat belts that need it, they tighten bolts on trains that need it, etc. They don't just put the trains in storage and leave for the night and expect them to be ready for operation the next morning. 

Who says those things are falling through the cracks? Fans that follow every move of the park or the family of 5 coming on their one visit to the park for the year? 

If you really think the park is starting to go down the decaying route, I encourage you to visit Conneaut Lake Park, Lakemont Park, etc. We've got a pretty good park....yes there are somethings that could be improved but the park is no where near the doom and gloom some think it is.

[LoadAndGo]

12 minutes ago, chugh43 said:

It may not be 24 hours but they are there pretty darn late after the park closes and pretty darn early before the park opens. 

They don't just fix things once they break....They replace wheels, they replace seat belts that need it, they tighten bolts on trains that need it, etc. They don't just put the trains in storage and leave for the night and expect them to be ready for operation the next morning. 

Who says those things are falling through the cracks? Fans that follow every move of the park or the family of 5 coming on their one visit to the park for the year? 

If you really think the park is starting to go down the decaying route, I encourage you to visit Conneaut Lake Park, Lakemont Park, etc. We've got a pretty good park....yes there are somethings that could be improved but the park is no where near the doom and gloom some think it is.

You're not hearing me. I'm not talking about ride maintenance. I'm talking about park presentation. Look at Rivertown from WWC to Diamondback. In regard to pathways, you have concrete, stamped concrete, blacktop, pavers, a different style of pavers, and painted concrete. You've got buildings that were built last year and buildings that were built in 1972 -- the difference is obvious. You can clearly see into backstage areas and maintenance roads.

KI sits in arguably the best market outside of LA and Orlando. We shouldn't be comparing ourselves to small, local parks and settling for what's ok, or what gets the job done. We should be comparing ourselves to the best parks in the county and striving for that. Sure, you can come to KI and ride rides, but can you be immersed in a story or setting? Can you forget that you're at an amusement park? Shoot, current KI doesn't even stack up to 1970s and 80s KI.