AnyPancakes Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 I drive by KI on the way home from work every day. It was really depressing to see the parking lot empty last night. The end of summer brings on a lot of things I love (cooler weather, football, etc) but it still makes me sad. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YOULLBEBACK Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 Not a revelation to anyone, but the carnival games seem absolutely dead this year. I feel bad for the poor kids manning 2-3 games and begging people to play. I'd expect to see less of those in coming years. Maybe a tattoo shop in place of one. It seemed like everyone over 14 had multiple tats when we went on Sunday. Not exactly judging...just a mildly sarcastic observation:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifetimecoaster Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 I almost believe that the new cards to play thing is potentially killing that. I can't be 100% certain, but it feels like people would rather just hand over a couple bucks to play, than to hook themselves by having to put money on a card to play. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhatTheBlazes Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 31 minutes ago, lifetimecoaster said: I almost believe that the new cards to play thing is potentially killing that. I can't be 100% certain, but it feels like people would rather just hand over a couple bucks to play, than to hook themselves by having to put money on a card to play. The cards could definitely be a part of that. Kind of ruins the spontaneity of playing one of the games in my opinion. Remember when you would just take your dollar, put it in the try, and flip it over into the little lockbox? Could also be a cost issue. Not sure what the standard carnival games cost, but the Age/Weight game by Zephyr is $10 bucks per play which seems pretty outrageous to me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandsUp Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 My kids always want to play games, and the fact that you need to mess with the cards is #1 excuse not to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lifetimecoaster Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 They are expensive. There's no doubt about that part. The issue I find is that if I walk up and want to play the game and they tell me I have to walk over and put my money in a machine to buy a card, that gives me time to think about it. It takes the impulse element out of it. Anyone that's been through any marketing classes will tell you that it's important to allow impulse purchases to happen with little to no thought involved. The moment you give someone the opportunity to think through an impulse buy, they will be able to think it out and not be able to justify the money spent. There's a possibility that they will start to see the decline. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maddog Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 2 hours ago, HandsUp said: My kids always want to play games, and the fact that you need to mess with the cards is #1 excuse not to. KI take note!! I believe this to be a big issue. All you need to do is give parents/guardians/those who hold money any small hurtle (no matter how minor it seems) to part with their money, and it is an easy "no", or "maybe next time" which never occurs. Heck I might even play an occasional game when I have a couple of bucks in my pocket. But if I had to walk somewhere and load a car? Ah forget it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongLiveTheSmurfRide Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 Same as above. I used to flop a couple bucks down to throw some rings or a football, but haven't done it since they switched to the cards. Made no sense to me and I hope they change it back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 1 hour ago, Maddog said: KI take note!! I believe this to be a big issue. All you need to do is give parents/guardians/those who hold money any small hurtle (no matter how minor it seems) to part with their money, and it is an easy "no", or "maybe next time" which never occurs. Heck I might even play an occasional game when I have a couple of bucks in my pocket. But if I had to walk somewhere and load a car? Ah forget it... As long as the net decrease in revenue from switching to game cards is less than the "loss" when they had to handle cash, you will see cards continue... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brent Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 7 hours ago, Maddog said: KI take note!! I believe this to be a big issue. All you need to do is give parents/guardians/those who hold money any small hurtle (no matter how minor it seems) to part with their money, and it is an easy "no", or "maybe next time" which never occurs. Heck I might even play an occasional game when I have a couple of bucks in my pocket. But if I had to walk somewhere and load a car? Ah forget it... I know from just walking around on a super busy day sat, I heard numerous times game ops say “no, you have to have a card, I can’t take cash”. I can’t say how many of those people did go get the card, but based on the low crowds at the games on a busy day, I’d say not many. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
standbyme Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 12 hours ago, Maddog said: Heck I might even play an occasional game when I have a couple of bucks in my pocket. But if I had to walk somewhere and load a car? Ah forget it... Yeah, that’s where I’d draw the line too...loading a car is way too much work, it’s my least favorite thing about going on vacation! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMC01 Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 There is also the factor of once you get said game cards, you might lose it... I had somewhere around 600-700 points on a game card (was trying to save up for a Nickelodeon plush or some other thing- I think it was a mini bowling set) and I lost it during that Passholder Ride Night in Action Zone. At the start of one park visit, I went to the Coney Arcade and asked a manager if they could look up my debit card (to try to put the points back on) and they said I had to buy a new game card Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shizzzon Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 16 hours ago, MonteCristo said: The cards could definitely be a part of that. Kind of ruins the spontaneity of playing one of the games in my opinion. Remember when you would just take your dollar, put it in the try, and flip it over into the little lockbox? Could also be a cost issue. Not sure what the standard carnival games cost, but the Age/Weight game by Zephyr is $10 bucks per play which seems pretty outrageous to me. That cost dictates how much the prizes are worth. At CP, they have 3 different ones spread throughout the park. I played and won at all of them and each had different price. They are expected to lose so you get to purchase your prize with the game cost. I havent done KIs but CP takes cash. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flightoffear1996 Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Maybe it also has to do with theft? I would think it wouldn’t take much for an employee to put a couple of bucks in their pocket. Using game cards makes this impossible 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ding Dong Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Agree theft is probably a big issue and also the labor required to have a cash handler traveling around collecting from each station. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuckyluvsKI Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 And minimum you can put on the card is 5$ so that takes out the 2$ spontaneous play. 18 hours ago, lifetimecoaster said: Anyone that's been through any marketing classes will tell you that it's important to allow impulse purchases to happen with little to no thought involved. The moment you give someone the opportunity to think through an impulse buy, they will be able to think it out and not be able to justify the money spent. Exactly, going from trying to play 2$ to the card you do start to question if you really want to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandsUp Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 The cards take away spontaneity but they also ensure at least a 5$ outlay whether you spend it or not-plus having to get a card encourages you to 'make it worth it' by loading more on than you would for a random game. And you can use your CC to load money on which allows for a more frivolous attitude and a more liquid transaction (likely with higher amounts). Add in the loss prevention and elimination of administrative hassles and I'm sure it's worth it. It does get away from the spirit of carnival games but as long as there are nagging kids or show-offs, there will always be a market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magenta Lizard Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 I’m among the lighter of the “heavy” players at KI. Believe me, the loss of a few dollars here and there from extremely casual players must be far made up for by the convenience that encourages those of us who spend hundreds of dollars a season on games. There are a select few who spend literally thousands. There’s also some very good reasons casinos don’t use cash, and most of them apply here. For me in particular as a player, it’s nice to not need to carry enough cash every visit to be certain I won’t be left hanging if I see a couple Totos in the Wizard of Oz coin pushers throughout the day. And while I can’t say for absolute certain because I haven’t tried amounts that low, I believe you can absolutely add less than $5, even with a credit card transaction, by selecting “other amount.” I think it goes as low as $1. I will confirm this next chance I get to attend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Browntggrr Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 Waldameer in Erie has gone exclusively to card only system for everything. No cash accepted in the park. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDMC01 Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 Hey all, I went to the park from 9:30ish- 7:30/7:45 and had a blast. I was mainly there to ride stuff and see my final shows of Country Flashback, as I'll be headed up to CP for Labor Day. After getting to the park, I bought a pair of sunglasses as I broke a pair breakdancing at Island Nights (because of course I did lol). I then ran into Don before doing Diamondback and Mystic for ERT. Diamondback actually wasn't that bad, but I still don't like that floater air (sat in Row 5, I think). By the time I was done with Mystic, it was after 10, so I headed to Backlot (which has the best soundtrack in the park) and then Flight of Fear. I want to apologize for overreacting about Flight of Fear's roughness on posts after last Friday's trip. I strongly believe the roughness was the row I was sitting in as today's ride was a little better (I was in Row 3 today and Row 2 on Friday). In addition to the 2 Premier launch coasters, I rode Zephyr, Delirium, The Bat (which was fun as always; I also heard "Lucky" by Britney Spears in line, which was really cool), Train, Adventure Express (where I ran into some fellow coaster enthusiasts in line), Vortex, Shake Rattle and Roll and Mystic Timbers. I also saw three shows of Flashback Country, which was great! I wish I'd seen it more times this season as I really do love the show, as I heard some of the songs from the show as a kid as my parents like country. Also, I think that some of the singers are really talented and the live band is a really cool element of the show. In addition the rides and the country show, I visited the Petting Farm today and noticed there were some new animals that showed up, like these sheep with black heads (white bodies) that were mixed in with the goats. There was also this black donkey that I hadn't seen before. Finally, I ran into some friends during my visit, including @gannersdaddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LovinMeSomeBanshee Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 Diamondback has been stuck at the bottom of the lift for the last 30 minutes or so. They are getting everyone off and they closed the ride. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin22 Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 Just now, LovinMeSomeBanshee said: Diamondback has been stuck at the bottom of the lift for the last 30 minutes or so. They are getting everyone off and they closed the ride. Diamondback has been temperamental this season, guess it didn’t take the news that it’s no longer the tallest or fastest ride in the park well... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 29 minutes ago, Ben43065 said: Diamondback has been temperamental this season, guess it didn’t take the news that it’s no longer the tallest or fastest ride in the park well... It's running now....but is trying to claim the name blue Diamondback before Orion287- The ride is called that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowball Posted August 25, 2019 Share Posted August 25, 2019 Diamondback seems to be down quite a lot this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klabergian Empire Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 Does anyone know when a Orion camera will be set up and where? @IndyGuy4KI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decyferite Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 2 hours ago, Klabergian Empire said: Does anyone know when a Orion camera will be set up and where? @IndyGuy4KI They said the camera would go up when Verticle construction starts in September... as far as where, not sure yet though I do feel like the top of the FoF building would be great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 15 hours ago, Klabergian Empire said: Does anyone know when a Orion camera will be set up and where? @IndyGuy4KI This is the most I know right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klabergian Empire Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 2 hours ago, IndyGuy4KI said: This is the most I know right now. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted August 26, 2019 Share Posted August 26, 2019 So back to the games card thing. At any point, with Starbucks’ reloadable card thing they have millions upon of dollars sitting in the bank from people forgetting that they still had $.40 on their card. That money just sits in the bank and collects interest. Let’s not forget about that factor when it comes to this. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brent Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 Going to add this here since there’s no winter fest, but I think it’s going to raise the bar again this year. They are adding tons of lights in the shrubs and lower level trees. Now, I’m not sure why they are putting them in a big coleus that will be dead and removed by winter fest though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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