KI Trip Report - June 7

[fyrfyter]

Went to the park today with the family for my first time this season. It was a good day because we made it a good day. I wish I could say that I enjoyed all of it, but if I did, I would be lying. Just too many issues that exist in the park that nobody cares about. 

Started with a ride on Boo Blasters, thought it would be fun- that was a horrible idea. Half the targets in the ride don’t work and our car kept resetting throughout. The displays would dim down, go dark and then come back up as all zeros. No fun there. Big delays with the guns. They should fix this ride or junk it. I kindly told them this via Tweet, which got zero response. Glad they care so much. 

Went on for some more family fun all the flats were great. Talked my 7 year old son, into adding another coaster to his repertoire. He added both Red and Blue Racers today. His first wooden coaster rides at KI. As long as we make steady progress I’m happy. He will now ride BLSC, Racer and AE. Hopefully I can talk him into MT or The Bat before the end of the season. 

The wife took the younger son for kids rides while I did older rides with the 7 year old. Lots of fun to be had by us. He’s tall enough to ride anything in the park, and now we can ride Dodgems separately. He loves it. 

We took a family spin on KMAA. That was a blast. Even though the queue was full, it moved quickly. Lots of people working there. They are obviously working hard to keep the capacity up at this point. Plenty of ride ops made for a relatively short wait. 

Decided to do Brewhouse for lunch. While the food was good, the service is abysmal. We already decided we won’t be going back. I watched someone struggle with the POS system and honoring a guys unlimited band. He scanned the thing 3 times and still couldn’t put in an order. Definite training issues there. We did get our food ordered with relative ease and found a place to sit. Food shows up, but there is no dipping sauce for the tenders. We ask about it. She immediately snaps “we don’t have honey mustard”. I find this troubling that this is her immediate response, when it is clearly listed on the menu. My wife politely asks about BBQ sauce, which they happen to have. Better her than me at this point. They bring us some. My kids are looking for the Ketchup. Our table doesn’t have any. We have Salt and Pepper, Mustard and Sriracha. No Ketchup. We notice as we look around, that no table has all of the items it is supposed to have. Some have salt, others don’t. Some have Pepper, others don’t. I decide I am not asking again. I get up and take Ketchup from an unoccupied table. The kids want more water. I don’t both asking, just walk back up to the machine and get it. I’m ready for someone.to try and stop me, because I am so unhappy at this point. Nobody does. So while I am there, might as well get a Diet Coke refill as well. 

In the end, the food taste and quality is delicious, but the service and lacking items that are supposed to be there are really hampering what should be a good restaurant at the park. We have decided at this point, we will avoid it in the future. Nobody there cares and it’s obvious by their behavior. After my meal I send another tweet to KIPR which also goes unanswered. By my experience, finding someone who really cares is much harder than someone who doesn’t. Those seem to exist en mass around the park. 

More rides after lunch including Race for Your Life Charlie Brown. Kids and wife get soaked. I hate wet shoes, so I opt out. The good news is, I hadn’t applied my funpix purchase for this year to my account, but the people at the Funpix booth did an awesome job of finding it an applying it to my account. Now we are back to getting whatever photos we want. 

Wife and the little one ride Boo Blasters after lunch. It gets stuck - twice during their ride. Yep, this ride is aging like a bull in a China shop. 

Decide to go to Eiffel Tower for a view. The breeze at the top is decent and it’s cloudy, so you can walk around and see things without getting roasted. It’s fun to look at the park from this view. You can see some things you might normally miss. My son sees the floral items including the date Eiffel Tower and the Clock. He asks if we can see them when we are back on the ground. 

A few more rides and it’s almost time to head home. Stop at Festhaus for Pizza on the meal plan for the ride home. Happen to be at the front door at 5 o’clock on the money. Got to see the figurines do their show. My kids are mesmerized by this. My wife says she has never seen it before. I told her it was repaired in the off season. Others stop and watch as well. Guess we will have to do that again in the future, as it is really fun to watch. I think it caught most of the people off guard, as they really weren’t expecting it, but did stop to watch. 

In the end, we made it a fun trip. The meal and the Boo Junkers stuff annoys the heck out of me. For what season passes and meal plans cost, I expect more. I don’t expect perfection 100% of the time, because I understand how things go, but this feels like so far from that. Hopefully the next trip is a little better. Definitely won’t be going back to Brewhouse anytime soon. 

[DonHelbig]

Did you stop at Guest Services to discuss your experience at the Miami River Brewhouse and Boo Blasters or just file the issues you encountered during your visit on Twitter and KIC?

BTW ... you did get a response to your Miami River Brewhouse tweet. 

[sixohdieselrage]

Great to hear others expressing the same concerns as my family does with the Brewhouse. 

Btw @fyrfyter, I followed you on IG.

@DonHelbig, it's nice to see park employees, specifically Gold Tags responding to guests on here, as well as other social media platforms. 

[fyrfyter]

Did you stop at Guest Services to discuss your experience at the Miami River Brewhouse and Boo Blasters or just file the issues you encountered during your visit on Twitter and KIC?
BTW ... you did get a response to your Miami River Brewhouse tweet. 

No I did not stop by guest services. Glad someone saw my tweet and responded.

Maybe you guys should add a guest services item into the app. Then you will get it straight from the source, good, bad or otherwise.

[fyrfyter]

Great to hear others expressing the same concerns as my family does with the Brewhouse. 

Btw [mention=12]fyrfyter[/mention], I followed you on IG.

[mention=9169]DonHelbig[/mention], it's nice to see park employees, specifically Gold Tags responding to guests on here, as well as other social media platforms. 

 

I don’t really use it. I spend way more time on Twitter and FB.

[DonHelbig]

47 minutes ago, fyrfyter said:

 

No I did not stop by guest services. Glad someone saw my tweet and responded.

Maybe you guys should add a guest services item into the app. Then you will get it straight from the source, good, bad or otherwise.

 

I responded to your tweet. If you are having an issue while at the park, Guest Services is where you should go. We can address your concerns far better in person than we can when we see them on a fan site or social media. 

[fyrfyter]

I’m going to be honest and tell you this sounds like a cop out.

It’s 2019. Why should I have to walk to guest services to voice a concern or issue? I’m sure there’s a quicker and easier way to do this than me have to go find someone else to talk with. I’ve spent enough time resolving issues with guest services, like last season when they messed up our drink plan when they tried to activate it the first time we used it.

If you can figure out park wide WiFi, you can figure out a better way for this to work as well.

[KI FANATIC 37]

How is that a cop out? He is telling you it easier to address issues if you go to the place that is there to address issues.

It would be a cop out if he didn't give you an alternative to correct the problem. Not trying to sound rude at all.

[IndyGuy4KI]

@fyrfyter I find your response very disrespectful. A manager from the park is nice enough to respond to you and tell you how the park handles these types of issues. Like all parks, guest services is where you go to report concerns. 

If you don't want to report the issues to the proper channels the park has in place, they are not going to be able to address the issues.

[Phantom Theater]

1 hour ago, fyrfyter said:

I’m going to be honest and tell you this sounds like a cop out.

It’s 2019. Why should I have to walk to guest services to voice a concern or issue? I’m sure there’s a quicker and easier way to do this than me have to go find someone else to talk with. I’ve spent enough time resolving issues with guest services, like last season when they messed up our drink plan when they tried to activate it the first time we used it.

If you can figure out park wide WiFi, you can figure out a better way for this to work as well.

2019 has nothing to do with anything. Why should you walk to GUEST SERVICES? Maybe that's because they are there to service guest who have complaints. There's no better way to voice a concern than to tell someone at the park directly to their face rather than from behind a screen. I have a feeling they don't have something like that integrated into the app because people tend to exaggerate and inflate small issues when they are behind a screen. Sounds to me like you are too lazy/anxious/afraid to go an tell a real person about issues that you had. They responded to you on two different platforms. 

[silver2005]

You know, the whole idea behind the idea of a guest services is the park telling you up front that they know they don't get everything right all the time and want people to extend feedback, right?

[FUN&ONLY!]

I honestly had the complete opposite food experience yesterday at the park. I went to Skyline Chili and ordered three of what I thought were chili and cheese coneys, but I was surprised to find that when I ate them, they had no hot dog inside. I went up and asked why there were no hot dogs, and I soon realized that I had ordered three chili and cheese “sandwiches” which is just chili and cheese in a hot dog bun. This is probably why my bill came out to be so cheap. Anyways, I kind of felt bad for asking, even though I asked politely, because I was the one who was wrong. I was about to apologize and be on my way, but the kind lady who was working took my plate of food and gave me three hot dogs at no extra cost. She took the extra step to make my experience better when she could have just told me that I was wrong and that there was nothing that she could do!

[sixohdieselrage]

3 hours ago, fyrfyter said:

 

I don’t really use it. I spend way more time on Twitter and FB.

Meant Twitter.... Not sure why I said IG. lol

 

[ldhudsonjr]

I'm not sure I buy that missing ketchup bottles and a shortage of honey mustard constitutes the kind of issue some of the people on this thread seem to think it does...

[fyrfyter]

10 hours ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

@fyrfyter I find your response very disrespectful. A manager from the park is nice enough to respond to you and tell you how the park handles these types of issues. Like all parks, guest services is where you go to report concerns. 

If you don't want to report the issues to the proper channels the park has in place, they are not going to be able to address the issues.

Your opinion is noted. I'm not really concerned how you see it or what you think of my response. 

Guest Services is in the front of the park, while I was all the way in the back of the park. Put more guest services in, have them use social media or don't complain when I opt not to waste MY time going to wait in ANOTHER line at guest services at the front of the park. 

Here's what it really sounds like on here, nobody wants to deal with the negative issues. We want it to be happy all the time. Well, that's not reality. I don't expect much, but apparently expecting to get what I pay for based on the opinions here is too much. Maybe they should increase prices 20% while the quality continues to decline. Obviously, some of you would be completely fine with that and would be willing to pay more for less. 

[IndyGuy4KI]

Your disrespect to KIC members, KIC admin, and the park is noted! We are concerned with your responses and have taken action. 

KIC admin had no problems with you stating the issues you had during your visit in your report. We also would not have had any issues with a respectful conversation to follow about the issues either. Instead you responded in an irrational non respectful manor.  We will not tolerate that behavior on KIC.

[BoddaH1994]

I see both sides.

Almost any company will give you a cop out answer on social media. It would be horribly inefficient to attempt to address issues via that platform.

I also kind of wonder if feedback for the food department at GR has gone directly into the paper shredder in the past. For a long time they had a, “Yeah, they suck. Whatcha gonna do?” attitude.  I honesty have had overwhelmingly positive experiences with food this department this year. Let’s hope that with the new food director that we finally have someone competent enough at the top to affect change.

And for the record, as someone in the amusement park/technology sector, I really do think that @fyrfyter has a fantastic idea for integrating guest feedback into the app. If the restrooms are messy you can text a number, if you see something unsafe you can text 911, why not centralize it? In fact, if you wanted to include photos you could with the feedback. How bout it, science?

[IndyGuy4KI]

14 minutes ago, BoddaH1994 said:

And for the record, as someone in the amusement park/technology sector, I really do think that @fyrfyter has a fantastic idea for integrating guest feedback into the app. If the restrooms are messy you can text a number, if you see something unsafe you can text 911, why not centralize it? In fact, if you wanted to include photos you could with the feedback. How bout it, science?

Definitely something the park could look into. Just wondering if it would actually be a help, or would they get so overwhelmed with info that it would be white noise? 

[BoddaH1994]

2 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

Definitely something the park could look into. Just wondering if it would actually be a help, or would they get so overwhelmed with info that it would be white noise? 

There is software that they use (it’s the GMS I’ve referred to) that organizes the info. Plus the guest could even help narrow down where it goes. So think drop down boxes for, is this related to food/merch/rides etc, and then still down from there: is this positive/negative/just feedback? Do you want this issue addressed specifically? All of these things can really help with the data management. On top of that, the park can never have too much data, so I feel like this would be a positive thing. 

They also could do surveys. At almost all companies surveys are done by the marketing department who had their own agenda: specially where did you hear about us, did you see our ads, which avenue did you use to purchase tickets, etc is what you’re going to see. This is not unique to KI, Cedar Fair, or even the industry.  So, for example, you’ll be hard pressed to find a survey that asks if you’re happy with the condiment selection at the Brewhouse. You have to give active feedback - as in, going to guest services  - to express opinions like that. 

[FUN&ONLY!]

You also have to wonder how many people complain to guest services and on social media over worthless things, and often times they are the ones in the wrong. It would be hard for the park to implement a solid guest feedback program when most of the submissions would be spam or junk. All of the meaningful complaints would be buried in tons and tons of junk responses. I do think @fyrfyter had a solid complaint that the park could improve on and is helpful for the park to hear about, but I know there would be people who would abuse a feedback program.

One of my relatives who worked at the park, in guest services, told me a story about a time when a man was so angry that he threw a pen holder at her, so she had to file an assault charge. Also, a man once demanded a refund because he got bird poop on his new car while it was in the parking lot. Those are the kinds of responses the park has to deal with constantly, and some of the good criticism is lost with piles of those dumb remarks.

[LuvingKI]

Those bathrooms aren't staying clean no matter what, unless you have two cleaners cleaning non stop

Even my house would require a 24 hour bathroom maid to stay clean

[BoddaH1994]

17 minutes ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

You also have to wonder how many people complain to guest services and on social media over worthless things, and often times they are the ones in the wrong. It would be hard for the park to implement a solid guest feedback program when most of the submissions would be spam or junk. All of the meaningful complaints would be buried in tons and tons of junk responses. I do think @fyrfyter had a solid complaint that the park could improve on and is helpful for the park to hear about, but I know there would be people who would abuse a feedback program.

One of my relatives who worked at the park, in guest services, told me a story about a time when a man was so angry that he threw a pen holder at her, so she had to file an assault charge. Also, a man once demanded a refund because he got bird poop on his new car while it was in the parking lot. Those are the kinds of responses the park has to deal with constantly, and some of the good criticism is lost with piles of those dumb remarks.

You are right, but that’s true anywhere. Often people are content when they just have someone to vent to.  

Also you have to remember that when someone leaves negative feedback it’s because something happened that clearly was important to that person. There is always more to the story when people get upset. So for example on the surface when you say that @fyrfyter is upset about a lack of condiments it sounds kind of petty, but if you look at the whole story - it was advertised with honey mustard, they didn’t have it and the employee didn’t really care to address it. Then he couldn’t find alternatives on the tables because they weren’t stocked. Not sure if he has the meal plan or not, but I can tell you that if I had paid $15 for chicken strips I’d be pretty upset if I couldn’t even get honey mustard. 

Once again, Guest Services had to sit there and hear complaints for years because the people at the top of the food department were either unable or unwilling to make the changes that have needed to be made for years now. Change takes time, but it’s been an issue for a long time - at least as long as the meal plan has been a thing. I do feel like we’ve turned the corner, though. I hope. It’s still early. 

[IndyGuy4KI]

16 minutes ago, LuvingKI said:

Those bathrooms aren't staying clean no matter what, unless you have two cleaners cleaning non stop

Even my house would require a 24 hour bathroom maid to stay clean

I don't know how the bathrooms stay as clean as they do at the park. A dirty bathroom has never really been an issue in my experience unless there was someone who recently left a mess behind. 

[LuvingKI]

Maybe you're right.. I'm just skeezed all around in public bathrooms.. I'm the one who turns sink on and off with wrist and opens the bathroom door with shirt. Though I've for sure seen some funky stalls at KI and every other public place stalls

[IndyGuy4KI]

34 minutes ago, LuvingKI said:

Maybe you're right.. I'm just skeezed all around in public bathrooms.. I'm the one who turns sink on and off with wrist and opens the bathroom door with shirt. Though I've for sure seen some funky stalls at KI and every other public place stalls

So I am not the only one trying to touch as little as possible in a public bathroom. 

[ldhudsonjr]

20 hours ago, fyrfyter said:

Maybe they should increase prices 20% while the quality continues to decline. Obviously, some of you would be completely fine with that and would be willing to pay more for less.  

I've been going to this park since I was a child. My first times visiting were before Paramount, and I would argue that the overall quality of the experience at the park has increased drastically over the last 10 years or so. A big part of the reason your thoughts aren't being welcomed the way you may have expected they would is because A.) You're making mountains out of molehills IMO, and B.) This really shouldn't have been posted in the "trip reports" section as there is an entire thread devoted to *****ing about park food service.

While I don't any longer, I spent much of my adult life working in the restaurant industry, so I know how this goes. the Brewhouse has only just opened. Regardless of your opinions about how the customer is always right and the experience should always be perfect no matter what, any time a new restaurant opens it will get a huge influx of customers (maybe the most it will ever have at one time) during a period where the people running it will have the least experience in doing so. I've been to the park many many times already during this season, and most of the time that place is pretty packed. There will be growing pains, and the staff will be INCREDIBLY overwhelmed. I've worked at a few very busy restaurants and just from my experience I can tell you that working in one built into a amusement park with tons of guests would be a NIGHTMARE even before you consider that EVERYONE working there has never worked in that place before. I mean honestly your post just came off as kind of annoying because you sounded like you were ready to fight someone over there not being any ketchup on your table, or honey mustard in the store. Everyone likes to **** on servers, but I promise you it's all WAY HARDER than you think. When you have multiple tables, it can be a big challenge keeping drinks filled and making sure everyone has what they need. I also get ****ed sometimes when I'm getting truly ****ty service, but I do think it's important to take into account what's going on around you. People expect perfect service, but the REALITY of the situation is that that's not always possible.

 

Give it to the middle of the season or so, and I'd be willing to bet the service there improves. At least by next season, I would imagine it will be a pretty well oiled machine, but this is NOTHING NEW. Every new restaurant experiences these kinds of challenges, and this is why when something new opens I don't check it out until AT LEAST a couple months have gone by. If this kind of thing really bugs you this much, I suggest you do the same.

 

 

[BoddaH1994]

10 hours ago, ldhudsonjr said:

I've been going to this park since I was a child. My first times visiting were before Paramount, and I would argue that the overall quality of the experience at the park has increased drastically over the last 10 years or so. A big part of the reason your thoughts aren't being welcomed the way you may have expected they would is because A.) You're making mountains out of molehills IMO, and B.) This really shouldn't have been posted in the "trip reports" section as there is an entire thread devoted to *****ing about park food service.

While I don't any longer, I spent much of my adult life working in the restaurant industry, so I know how this goes. the Brewhouse has only just opened. Regardless of your opinions about how the customer is always right and the experience should always be perfect no matter what, any time a new restaurant opens it will get a huge influx of customers (maybe the most it will ever have at one time) during a period where the people running it will have the least experience in doing so. I've been to the park many many times already during this season, and most of the time that place is pretty packed. There will be growing pains, and the staff will be INCREDIBLY overwhelmed. I've worked at a few very busy restaurants and just from my experience I can tell you that working in one built into a amusement park with tons of guests would be a NIGHTMARE even before you consider that EVERYONE working there has never worked in that place before. I mean honestly your post just came off as kind of annoying because you sounded like you were ready to fight someone over there not being any ketchup on your table, or honey mustard in the store. Everyone likes to **** on servers, but I promise you it's all WAY HARDER than you think. When you have multiple tables, it can be a big challenge keeping drinks filled and making sure everyone has what they need. I also get ****ed sometimes when I'm getting truly ****ty service, but I do think it's important to take into account what's going on around you. People expect perfect service, but the REALITY of the situation is that that's not always possible.

 

Give it to the middle of the season or so, and I'd be willing to bet the service there improves. At least by next season, I would imagine it will be a pretty well oiled machine, but this is NOTHING NEW. Every new restaurant experiences these kinds of challenges, and this is why when something new opens I don't check it out until AT LEAST a couple months have gone by. If this kind of thing really bugs you this much, I suggest you do the same.

 

 

To be clear, @fyrfyter has been a member of this forum for a long time and isn’t really known for complaining. I agree - mountain out of a mole hill, but it takes simple things to screw up a dining experience. Many have had positive experiences this year, they’ve shared that. He had a bad one, he shared his story. I think it’s fair.

[ldhudsonjr]

All right to be fair maybe I was being a little harsh there. Still though, I really don't have any trouble understanding why things could be difficult there right now, and I do think it'll improve over time.

[Beatles]

Every dept. has an interest in discarding or rationalizing negative feedback as efficiently as possible.  That is why I never complain to management. Ever. I assume the criticism will fall on deaf ears.  

But I will say nearly every experience we’ve had in the Brewhouse has been disappointing this year. But then again, you get what you pay for.  What do you expect from the type of restaurant that will give you 2 meals a day for 6 months (if you are so inclined) for around $100!  I’ve had the same experience with the honey mustard... but honestly, I am pleasantly shocked that the chicken tenders and “barrels” even found their way to my table in under 30 minutes.

Also, if it’s not a typical serving job (where tips are involved), I just assume going in that the staff isn’t going to really take pride in their jobs, and couldn’t care less if a hungry family/dude is happy.

 I just go in expecting to be disappointed, and my very low expectations are met every time!  

Then we go ride Mystic Timbers and have fun!

Also @IndyGuy4KI, while it’s not my nature to take the same tact as @fyrfyter did with Don, your response was a bit draconian.

[Jiddle]

I just want to throw out there also the "Brewhouse" isn't a new restaurant in definition.  It has been a restaurant for a while.  It just has a new name and revamped menu.