Kings Island Haunt 2021

[Born_in_'72]

Best of luck with your surgery, and a speedy recovery!!

[Theejgame]

First time going to Kings Island Haunt. Not doing houses at all, what do ride wait times usually look like?

[McSalsa]

13 minutes ago, Theejgame said:

First time going to Kings Island Haunt. Not doing houses at all, what do ride wait times usually look like?

I can't really speak for Friday Nights, but the last time I went on Saturday (in 2018): fairly light crowds from open until around 1-2pm (aka pre haunt daytime), and then it started to get slammed. At peak on busy Saturdays major popular coasters like Orion, The Beast, Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, Banshee (to a lesser extent due to its capacity), and Flight of Fear can easily get hour plus waits, even 90 and 120 minute waits can happen if it gets really slammed (especially at The Beast after dark as people want their night rides). Backlot Stunt Coaster and Invertigo will also get long lines due to their lower capacity. Large flat rides like Drop Tower and Delirium can also hit a hour plus, WindSeeker tends to max out around 30 minutes though (due to high capacity and people seeing the que full). Even less popular but decent capacity coasters like The Racer, The Bat, and Adventure Express which can be walk-ons on normal days could see 30 minute waits. Even small flat rides like Monster will have decent lines.

If you stay until near the very close though, it dies down. Last hour or so the park is open people begin to leave and that 90 minute wait for Beast, for example, might drop to a mere 30-45. On my 2018 visit I used this strategy and it worked pretty well: I took advantage of the lighter crowds earlier in the day to get rides in on all the most popular coasters (Diamondback, Mystic Timbers, The Beast, etc.) and when it started to pick up a little I switched to hitting the less popular rides (AE, Bat, Racer, Vortex- RIP) as the big coasters were getting lines now. Then pick 3 or 4 night rides, maybe you could do 5 if you pick less popular rides like Adventure Express or Bat but the big stuff is gonna each eat a big chunk of the 4-5 hours of darkness you have to work with. Or you can just shell out $100+ and get Fast Lane Plus, and ride like 10-15 rides at night alone.

[MDMC01]

The above "last hour" strategy also works great for mazes too... I remember getting through a bunch of mazes right at the end of the night when I would go in 2018 and prior - for example, I remember being able to do Killmart and Backwoods Bayou with no wait and then on one specific night, I did Field of Screams (minimal wait of about 10-20 minutes; it's usually an hour or more) and then booked it to Slaughter House for my final maze of the night.

Do note that the park does close at Midnight for Haunt and not 1 AM as in previous seasons.

[disco2000]

1 minute ago, MDMC01 said:

Do note that the park does close at Midnight for Haunt and not 1 AM as in previous seasons.

Between an earlier close and less Haunt events, it is anyone's guess on if that last hour will be busy or not.

I expect it will be busy until close and that "last hour" experience from the past will remain in the past.

[chad_1138]

All 4 indoor haunts done and sitting down to some Coney at 7.  Successful first hour.

 

[Diamondback2112]

How crowded is the park right now? 

[McSalsa]

According to Que Times (not 100% accurate but easy to access and I think they just use KI's app data), the longest wait in the park for a ride ATM is 20 minutes for Kings Mills Antique Autos. Longest coaster lines are Diamondback and Orion, both listed at 15 minutes. Given chad_1138 did 4 haunts and got food in the first hour, I'd say these wait times sound pretty accurate. Doesn't seem the park is very busy at all tonight.

Edit: Just saw a post on Facebook from Cedar Point- Steel Vengeance, which normally has at least 90 minute wait times, is only 30 minutes tonight. If Cedar Point isn't busy at all, Kings Island probably isn't either.

 

[chad_1138]

Probably the least crowded Friday Night Haunt I have ever been to in the past 5 years. Came over to Cornered right at 8, remembering the Field of Scream lines right at 8.  No where near that long.  It’ll be probably a 10 minute wait.

[Theejgame]

One more Haunt question , the tasting menu options. How big are portions for the main food options? Is the 6 enough for 2 for the day?

[brenthodge]

39 minutes ago, Theejgame said:

One more Haunt question , the tasting menu options. How big are portions for the main food options? Is the 6 enough for 2 for the day?

Tastings are only for Tricks or Treats on Sat and Sunday just FYI and only until 10 on sat and 8 on Sun. Plan accordingly if heading out tonight. 

[IndyGuy4KI]

Waited about 30 min for indoor mazes, Kill Mart looked to be about 45min. 

[FUN&ONLY!]

2 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

Waited about 30 min for indoor mazes, Kill Mart looked to be about 45min. 

From earlier posts, it seems like the crowds picked up a little as the night went on, but those waits aren’t too bad for Halloween Haunt honestly.

[gforce1994]

Here’s video I shot of opening night. It was a great event, and I felt the park was firing on all cylinders.

 

[tuxedoman52]

Ride wait times were excellent last night.
Orion - 5 minutes
Racer - Walk-on
Adventure Express - Walk-on
Banshee - 5 minutes
Bat - Walk-on
Mystic Timbers - 25 minutes
Diamondback - 10 minutes
Beast - 30 minutes
Invertigo - Walk-on

Definitely my most successful coaster riding haunt trip.

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

[DoomPlague]

Based on the above, it sounds like the lines for MT, DB, and Orion went back and forth. Beast line got longer (30 minutes) once it was dark as one can imagine. My one ride on Orion was probably 25 minutes and I never saw it shorter than that. I passed by Racer once and the line was out past the entrance then came back later and it was a walk-on.

I wanted to do a maze or two but I wasn't sure what the waits would be like (some of the lines looked pretty long) and wasn't sure which ones are worth it. Maybe I'll try next Friday.

Still happy with my trip though. Got my first night ride on Orion and my first Beast night ride of the season (that fireworks thing kept getting in the way). Even got two meals on my dining plan (don't judge me for eating at 11 PM).

[chad_1138]

2 hours ago, DoomPlague said:

Based on the above, it sounds like the lines for MT, DB, and Orion went back and forth. Beast line got longer (30 minutes) once it was dark as one can imagine. My one ride on Orion was probably 25 minutes and I never saw it shorter than that. I passed by Racer once and the line was out past the entrance then came back later and it was a walk-on.

I wanted to do a maze or two but I wasn't sure what the waits would be like (some of the lines looked pretty long) and wasn't sure which ones are worth it. Maybe I'll try next Friday.

Still happy with my trip though. Got my first night ride on Orion and my first Beast night ride of the season (that fireworks thing kept getting in the way). Even got two meals on my dining plan (don't judge me for eating at 11 PM).

If you can get to Haunt at opening, you can knock the 4 indoor mazes out by 7ish.  The one outdoor maze, we got in line right at 8 and were out by 8:15.  Eating our second meal at 11 is one of our favorite parts of Friday night Haunt  

[IndyGuy4KI]

KIC Haunt 2021 photos have been uploaded. Hopefully more to come, but here is almost 200 to get you started.

[BeeastFarmer]

Wish The Undertaker was back!

Does anyone here know if the creepy "Have you seen my Dolly" push button is back this year?  I think it was in the former Salt Water Circus area.

[disco2000]

Meanwhile at Carowinds:

 

[JimParker85]

That has to be miserable at SCarowinds tonight. Their operations this season were nightmarish for our August visit, and I heard of similar experiences from a park regular and a friend who went in July. It was a huge downgrade from how we had observed the park in 2016, 18 and 19. 

[CoasterFan82]

I have been lurking on this forum for a while finally  registered tonight. Got to the park at 10:15 this morning. Early gold pass rides on Diamondback to start the day. Walked on Mystic Timbers and The Beast at park open. Early arrivals had the pick of any ride they wanted. It got packed after sundown! Left at 8:30PM and people were still streaming in and the parking lot was full. 11 until about 4 was great after that the park was packed. Kill Mart had at least a 2 hour wait at around 8pm.