Kings Island 2019 Discussion

[flightoffear1996]

Getting rid of physical queue lines and going 100percent virtual would solve this. 

[teenageninja]

3 hours ago, flightoffear1996 said:

Getting rid of physical queue lines and going 100percent virtual would solve this. 

That will never work.

[fyrfyter]

I watched the gentleman at the Eiffel Tower make one of the kids who climbed through the queue line railing, climb back out and walk through the entrance to the queue. There were only a handful of us in line, but I appreciated that regardless of the line length, that is still important to some people.

[fryoj]

7 hours ago, flightoffear1996 said:

Getting rid of physical queue lines and going 100percent virtual would solve this. 

On top of increasing costs, it really doesn't work. Universal has experimented with it, but doesn't appear to be sticking with it other than a few specially designed situations. One big problem is what do you do while you are waiting for your ride time? If you have an hour wait for Diamondback are you and the other thousands of people just going to stare at the fountains for an hour? Plus, If you take everyone out of lines and put them in the midways and food lines, it would overload the whole park. 

[upstop]

11 minutes ago, fryoj said:

 One big problem is what do you do while you are waiting for your ride time?

The psychological expectation is that you’ll be spending the time you would be waiting to ride, spending your money at a shop or taking the two hour wait to eat at one of their many restaurants. The point is to separate you from your money without you even realizing it. 

[silver2005]

Go look up Volcano Bay and see how going 100% virtual queue worked for them.

I honestly hate the idea.  I want an amusement park visit to be mostly spontaneous, not totally dictated by electronics.  I go to parks mostly to get away from that crap.  I hardly use my phone and only do so when posting the highlights of the day on social media, which is pretty sparingly. 

[fryoj]

At Volcano Bay, you can at least go hang out at the pool or do the lazy river or just chill in your beach chair, so it sorta works there. At a traditional park, people are just going to stand outside the ride waiting for their time. In a full day at a park, you aren't going to shop every time you are virtually waiting in line. And since everyone else is waiting and bored, the shops will be so full that you won't want to go in them anyway. The theory is sound, but in practice, dumping thousands of people into the midways just doesn't work. 

[upstop]

The only way way the process might work is to pre plan an entire day for every customer in advance and limit the volume of customers in the park. They would need a Tera-byte computer system to analyze and sort the data. So while your waiting on your ride on ride one, you are virtually queued for ride two and scheduled for ride three. Completely planned beginning to end. As Silver2005 stated, where is the spontaneity and who would want their entire day controlled start to finish? Not me, that’s for sure.

 

[starlitfire]

2 hours ago, upstop said:

The only way way the process might work is to pre plan an entire day for every customer in advance and limit the volume of customers in the park. They would need a Tera-byte computer system to analyze and sort the data. So while your waiting on your ride on ride one, you are virtually queued for ride two and scheduled for ride three. Completely planned beginning to end. As Silver2005 stated, where is the spontaneity and who would want their entire day controlled start to finish? Not me, that’s for sure.

 

As an autistic person, I could say that I would definitely enjoy this. (Although I do enjoy a certain amount of spontaneity from time to time.)

In other news, I recently bought a fannypack (for whatever reason, they're a trend again) with the intent of taking it into the park when I'm finally up in Ohio. If I tried riding it on Banshee or Mystic Timbers, would I be told to go to a locker or would they let me on with it?

[radishman]

1 hour ago, starlitfire said:

As an autistic person, I could say that I would definitely enjoy this. (Although I do enjoy a certain amount of spontaneity from time to time.)

In other news, I recently bought a fannypack (for whatever reason, they're a trend again) with the intent of taking it into the park when I'm finally up in Ohio. If I tried riding it on Banshee or Mystic Timbers, would I be told to go to a locker or would they let me on with it? 

I use a fanny for my KI trips (I only have a few things in it, but don't want them falling out) and haven't had an issue on any rides with it. There's always the bins if it does become an issue.

[IndyGuy4KI]

1 hour ago, starlitfire said:

If I tried riding it on Banshee or Mystic Timbers, would I be told to go to a locker or would they let me on with it?

You will most likely be asked to get a locker at these rides. 

[MDMC01]

33 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

You will most likely be asked to get a locker at these rides. 

Not to question a mod, but... my experience has been a bit different with Mystic (for Banshee, you absolutely need to get a locker!). Up until Winterfest, I would need to put my fanny pack in a locker. However, ever since that one night at Winterfest, I’ve been able to ride with my fanny pack on.

Also, responding to an earlier idea posed, I wouldn’t like a fully pre-planned* day very much. Though I do have things I’d like to ride and shows I’d like to see while in the park, I can be spontaneous as well. Like, if I wanna marathon Vortex or Bat instead of choosing a different ride, I can.

*I say fully pre-planned as I understand there are showtimes to abide by if I want to see the shows. Speaking of shows, when do Carnival’s parades happen? I know the dance party is at night, but I’m not sure when the parades start.

[IndyGuy4KI]

17 minutes ago, MDMC01 said:

Not to question a mod, but... my experience has been a bit different with Mystic (for Banshee, you absolutely need to get a locker!). Up until Winterfest, I would need to put my fanny pack in a locker. However, ever since that one night at Winterfest, I’ve been able to ride with my fanny pack on.

No problem @MDMC01, my answer was what the park policy would be. I would rather @starlitfire be ready to buy a locker if asked. 

[chad_1138]

My wife and I use running belts.  They are very slim fanny packs.  Enough room for a phone, key, and a few other items.  When we ride Banshee or MT, we simply put them under our shirts and never have any issues.  The only time we have had to put them in a locker is at Cedar Point for Steel Vengeance.  They asked when we got in line if we had fanny packs, and told us they had to be in a locker.  I'm glad we did.  Once we got to the metal detectors 2 hours later, there were a group of guys in front of us that got through with a fanny pack that had to leave the line and exit because they brought it with them.

[bjcolglazier]

Had just sat down on Vortex Saturday night ~9pm. We were train 3, so naturally the #3 storage bin was open for folks to put their stuff in. Out of nowhere a basketball gets launched from the back of the waiting queue and incredibly lands right in bin #3. "Swoosh???"

I don't think anybody working knew what to make of it---some people saw it, some people thought they saw it but were thinking, "no, surely I did not just see that"---but dang did I so bad wanna take that ball as a souvenir when I got off the ride.

Add me to the "old man sick of basketballs at Kings Island" list...that finally did it for me.

[KOBasinger]

Went to the park for a couple of hours tonight. Won a big momma wolf with baby on the ring toss. My daughter was so excited.  Things like that I'll just never forget. It pretty much made my year when she put that smile on her face. Also got to give props to the staff tonight. Everybody was so friendly !

The park was empty when I got there around 630. Every ride was basically a walk-on . Waited no more than 1 cycle to ride what I could. 

[Joshua]

Yesterday was a great day for lines. I rode all of the major coasters except Invertigo. The lines were mostly 5 minutes or less, even the rides the app listed as 15 to 20 minutes. The one notable exception was FoF, which was listed as 15 minutes, but was over 30. Man, I love that ride, but its short lines are deceptive.

I also hate how they rope you off as you enter the saucer. With the dim, ambient lighting and the "partied out" alien you pass on the way out, it's as if you've been rejected by a bouncer at a night club. "But wait, my girlfriend is in there!" "Lots of people's girlfriends are in there."*  

 

*Tell me there is someone here who gets that reference. 

[upstop]

Saw the fountain show last night. Searched out a good spot and when the show started, all of the music was at the front of the fountain. I moved towards the gate and noticed that the sound started at Graeters and back towards the gate. I hope the sound eventually fills the whole plaza otherwise it’s just flashy lights and fireworks.

[Klabergian Empire]

So, I was looking on the Kings Island weatherbug camera this morning at about 8:20am and this:

I wonder if they are doing a painting job or something else.....could we find that out?

[fryoj]

24 minutes ago, Klabergian Empire said:

So, I was looking on the Kings Island weatherbug camera this morning at about 8:20am and this:

I wonder if they are doing a painting job or something else.....could we find that out?

Probably lighting or something else for Grand Carnivale. 

[homestar92]

On 6/7/2019 at 6:29 PM, silver2005 said:

I just thought of something KI doesn't have that other parks do.  I think KI could use direction signs throughout the park to compliment the maps.  

It's such a little thing that I don't understand why every park doesn't do it. Curiously, of all the parks I've been to, only Six Flags seems to get it right. They have those signs all over and they are actually three dimensional and actually point in that direction, which helps them put a lot of rides onto the sign without it being cluttered and hard to decipher. I haven't been to every SIX park, but they've been present at all the ones I have been to, which are Great America, St. Louis, Georgia, Over Texas, and Discovery Kingdom. I've also been to Darien Lake, but not since Six Flags reacquired it.

For some reason, every other park I've seen with signs like that only has a couple of them. I know Cedar Point has one in Frontier Town that points the directions to Maverick, Steel Vengeance, and a couple other rides, but has no such signs in the front half of the park at all that I've ever seen.

Funny enough, Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom had the same 3-D ride signs while Ed Hart seems to have decided they aren't important. There are a couple signs there pointing to rides, but they aren't always very clear. Especially the one right by the bridge in the front half of the park that points to a bunch of rides on the other side of the bridge. Unfortunately, it gives no specifics as to WHERE they are after you cross the bridge, and that's a park where you need directions to get around. My first times trying to find Skycatcher and Kentucky Flyer were a real adventure.

[malem]

^ I completely agree that KK needs more of them, having walked into a completely empty Kentucky Flyer station on a moderately crowded day last week.

Kings Island's hub-and-spoke layout is logical enough that I don't think directional signs are strictly needed. If anything, I'd point the way to the different areas of the park on the paths leading away from IS. The Beast has its footprints back, so that much is covered.

[Klabergian Empire]

Here is another look of the work on the 50ft platform today (6/12/2019)

[teenageninja]

4 minutes ago, Klabergian Empire said:

Here is another look of the work on the 50ft platform today (6/12/2019)

Amazing resolution.  Probably some banners for Grand Carnavale.

[Klabergian Empire]

@teenageninja, you were right. They are putting up a sign on that says CARNIVAL

Sorry for the bad image quality. 

[Fye Coasters]

Per Ki's Insta 

[Kenban]

On 6/9/2019 at 3:21 PM, starlitfire said:

As an autistic person, I could say that I would definitely enjoy this. (Although I do enjoy a certain amount of spontaneity from time to time.)

In other news, I recently bought a fannypack (for whatever reason, they're a trend again) with the intent of taking it into the park when I'm finally up in Ohio. If I tried riding it on Banshee or Mystic Timbers, would I be told to go to a locker or would they let me on with it?

I had a conversation with an employee who works on Banshee about two weeks ago and we discussed fanny packs.  According to them the policy officially changed earlier this year, you can now take them on Banshee but you are required to still wear it while you ride, so you have to move it off to your side and the restraint must still close.  The problem is the policy changed and there has not been good communication with the ride ops to make sure every is aware of the change.  I have no idea how enforcement is right now.

The other problem is that with rules like this which are not public and not posted anywhere, how are guests supposed to know if there has been a change?

[MDMC01]

Oh my gosh, what a day! Along with Grand Carnivale (which I talk about in another thread), it was just a day full of fun and awesomeness. I started the day with 2 rounds of Vortex (one rainy, one not) and a spin on Antique Autos. Also rode Banshee, Delirium, Racer, Adventure Express, Diamondback and more. There was a giant storm that rolled in around 5ish, which cleared out the park a bit. This meant that after Carnivale's festivities (mostly) ended, the park was pretty dead. I ended the night with a rainy front seat night ride on Mystic Timbers.

[homestar92]

I've never tried this, but I'm curious. Will KI allow you to scan a QR code from something that isn't the official Kings Island app? I had an idea for my days at the park and I was curious, if I saved an image of my QR code from the app and stored it on a smartwatch, would they scan that and let me in? I see no reason why not since my picture will appear on their terminal and there's no way I can cheat the system or anything, I just have never tried it and am curious if anyone else has.

My idea is to get a smartwatch that supports Google Pay and then I could basically leave my phone and wallet in the car and still do anything and everything I could ever need to do inside the park! I don't know that I'd want to be without my phone on an all-day trip, but for those spur-of-the-moment after work trips when I don't have my zipper shorts, it could be a great idea for a quick little two hour trip without fear of losing my phone due to lack of zipper pockets.

[Kenban]

30 minutes ago, homestar92 said:

I've never tried this, but I'm curious. Will KI allow you to scan a QR code from something that isn't the official Kings Island app? I had an idea for my days at the park and I was curious, if I saved an image of my QR code from the app and stored it on a smartwatch, would they scan that and let me in? I see no reason why not since my picture will appear on their terminal and there's no way I can cheat the system or anything, I just have never tried it and am curious if anyone else has.

My idea is to get a smartwatch that supports Google Pay and then I could basically leave my phone and wallet in the car and still do anything and everything I could ever need to do inside the park! I don't know that I'd want to be without my phone on an all-day trip, but for those spur-of-the-moment after work trips when I don't have my zipper shorts, it could be a great idea for a quick little two hour trip without fear of losing my phone due to lack of zipper pockets.

I have them scan the code from my watch all the time, I use an Apple watch and an iPhone and just added it to my wallet from the official app and it syncs over to your watch automatically.   The scanners have a hard time scanning the watch face, and about 25% of the time I have to pull out my cell phone or the plastic card. 

If you can bring up the QR code I am confident that the employees will scan it.  I would worry that if you use an image which might have some scaling issues that the scanners might not be able to handle it, because they seem to hate the small screens on watches.  If you are going to use a watch as your pass I always recommend having a backup for when you find one of the scanners which refuse to read the code.