Kings Island Prestige Pass

[disco2000]

^But even the current one that is hot with very little air movement and poor shade most of the day, some folks camp out in there LOL.  If they oversold the pass like many suspect they did, they need to keep it kinda uncomfortable so that people rotate out of it so that there is room for others that want to use it   While I agree it should be nice, if it is too nice people won't leave LOL.

[disco2000]

Sorry for the double post.

The bottled drinks are now a thing of the past.  All that is available is the infused water.

The downgrading continues....

And I am sure the complaints will increase....

[BoddaH1994]

1 minute ago, disco2000 said:

Sorry for the double post.

The bottled drinks are now a thing of the past.  All that is available is the infused water.

The downgrading continues....

And I am sure the complaints will increase....

…after raising the price. 

[disco2000]

And the FAQ has already been changed to complimentary water.....previously it said bottled drinks.

Can't wait to see what they limit or remove next.  Nice way to tick off your highest paying guest that probably significantly contributed to the per cap spending as well...

Can here the bigwigs now "Hey you all just won Park of the Year so let's downgrade the VIP experience now" 

[IBEW_Sparky]

They are the epitome of the saying "Corporate sense and common sense are often on completely different sides of the spectrum".

 

They are also walking and talking examples of another saying a very wise former poster used to have... "They already have your money".

[standbyme]

On 9/6/2022 at 6:02 PM, disco2000 said:

^Several of my friends did to no avail.  The got some heart felt sorry though.

What…they couldn’t have gone that extra mile and thrown in a little “thoughts & prayers” too?! 

[gforce1994]

I can’t believe there’s so much outrage over the “Magic Fridge”.

If you don’t get the reference

[IndyGuy4KI]

28 minutes ago, gforce1994 said:

I can’t believe there’s so much outrage over the “Magic Fridge”.

If you don’t get the reference

It's not about the fridge, it is about the park selling a product promising drinks and taking it away after the fact. 

If there were people abusing the drinks, then come up with a better solution than taking it totally away. Same with the one time fast lane pass. Don't make it harder for your most expensive pass holders to get the product they purchased.

 

[Kenban]

2 hours ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

It's not about the fridge, it is about the park selling a product promising drinks and taking it away after the fact. 

If there were people abusing the drinks, then come up with a better solution than taking it totally away. Same with the one time Fast Lane pass. Don't make it harder for your most expensive pass holders to get the product they purchased.

 

I personally think they should keep the bottled beverages.  The pass price is high enough to pay for a lot of drinks.  The park is purchasing them directly from the distributors and is definitely getting special pricing.  Also I don’t know what the contract with Coke says, but if they can get away with giving away bottled water without a company name on it, generic bottled water with just Cedar Fair and the park(s) name on it would be dirt cheap.  It used to be less than 10 cents a bottle in bulk.  Since they would not be selling it, they might be able to get away with this.

But I have gone back and looked at marketing emails and checked the pages for the Prestige Pass.  As far as I can tell it only promised refreshments but never promised what they would be.

I also find it interesting it appears the park no longer sells VIP lounge access on its own.  It’s only either park of a package or the prestige pass.  They did update the package listing to say the lounge has water and snacks.

I feel like the park could and should do more, but frankly building an indoor lounge with air conditioning would be more of a VIP experience then bottled beverages.  The outdoor lounge does not feel like a long term solution.

[disco2000]

23 minutes ago, Kenban said:

But I have gone back and looked at marketing emails and checked the pages for the Prestige Pass.  As far as I can tell it only promised refreshments but never promised what they would be.

I also find it interesting it appears the park no longer sells VIP lounge access on its own.  It’s only either park of a package or the prestige pass.  They did update the package listing to say the lounge has water and snacks.

I feel like the park could and should do more, but frankly building an indoor lounge with air conditioning would be more of a VIP experience then bottled beverages.  The outdoor lounge does not feel like a long term solution.

It wasn't in the marketing emails, it was in the FAQs.  The original FAQ specifically mentioned soft drinks and bottled drinks.

 

And the newest addition to the VIP FAQs - anyone planning on using it for Haunt is out of luck after 8PM.  I guess the parents that planned to stay at the park and sit in the VIP with their bottled drinks and snacks while their teens roamed around will now just drop them off like years past LOL 

 

[gforce1994]

3 hours ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

It's not about the fridge, it is about the park selling a product promising drinks and taking it away after the fact. 

If there were people abusing the drinks, then come up with a better solution than taking it totally away. Same with the one time Fast Lane pass. Don't make it harder for your most expensive pass holders to get the product they purchased.

 

It promised access to a VIP area. That is still being offered.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

I'm not going to comment too much on this due to reasons, but imo the park and corporate needs to take a serious look at the location of the VIP lounge and need to make some big decisions on what they should offer and whether or not they should consider moving the lounge somewhere else or adding another one. Flavored water and chips is not going to cut it. A good solution would be to add a Coke freestyle stand in there, but then they would need to figure out how to keep the bees away as bees are attracted to them. Trust me, I would not want bees flying around a VIP area. They should honestly take a look at how BGT is doing their passholder lounge where it has an entire building dedicated to it with lots of space and has its own dedicated menu. There is a large space above the entrance that is hardly ever used that would be PERFECT for a VIP area and it wouldn't be too expensive to convert it.

 

[disco2000]

^While nice, it would be some time before I think we would see CF do that. 

Heck KI already has a barely used indoor facility already with great views worthy of VIP that could have been used for that, even if only on select days, and they elected not to.  But I guess anything is possible LOL.

[BoddaH1994]

1 hour ago, disco2000 said:

^While nice, it would be some time before I think we would see CF do that. 

Heck KI already has a barely used indoor facility already with great views worthy of VIP that could have been used for that, even if only on select days, and they elected not to.  But I guess anything is possible LOL.

“But they’re going to open it next year.”

-Everyone (‘92-‘22)

[disco2000]

58 minutes ago, BoddaH1994 said:

“But they’re going to open it next year.”

-Everyone (‘92-‘22)

 

Are you sure it is 92 LOL.  I think we could push that into the 80s.

 

They will never bring Winterfest back.

This is the last year of the fireworks.

They will never sellout Fast Lane at $50 per day.

Throw enough jelly at trees, something will stick at some point LOL

 

 

[Stoan]

On 9/11/2022 at 11:14 PM, gforce1994 said:

It promised access to a VIP area. That is still being offered.

I might be over analysing this, but I see that the VIP Water Park area is now named "Reserved Water Park area". Probably now with even less stuff!

[disco2000]

1 minute ago, Stoan said:

I might be over analysing this, but I see that the VIP Water Park area is now named "Reserved Water Park area". Probably now with even less stuff!

I am sure you are not over analyzing this...

I think they finally realized that the chair reserving fiasco that currently takes place at Soak City would be even worse in the VIP.  Imagine walking into a vacant VIP and can't find a seat because everyone is "reserving" them with their towels and belongings...

I am thinking they will rope off the big grassy area and that becomes the "Reserved Water Park area"....

Anyone want a refund LOL

[Stoan]

Has anyone checked to see if the Prestige Pass's "2 FREE Bring-A-Friend Passes Annually" count for this year? It is not marked as "next year only", and also does not carry the standard disclaimer that Free Bring-A-Friend passes are Friday/Sunday only, like the renewal ones.

[disco2000]

1 minute ago, Stoan said:

Has anyone checked to see if the Prestige Pass's "2 FREE Bring-A-Friend Passes Annually" count for this year? It is not marked as "next year only", and also does not carry the standard disclaimer that Free Bring-A-Friend passes are Friday/Sunday only, like the renewal ones.

Guest services have told people you get two this year and are not restricted by day like the renewal Bring a Friend....but Guest Services have also said it worked at CP and the VIP included bottled drinks....which was true in the beginning...so who knows what the message is this week as they continue to devalue the experience.

[disco2000]

Since we are on the Prestige pass thread, we can talk about what is new for them in 2023 LOL.  We know these passholders are getting some sort of reserved area at Soak City for next year, unless they strip that away between now and then

[BeeastFarmer]

Soak City's Prestige Pass area will be in the large grassy area and will have a boom box playing top hits from Van Halen and Twisted Sister. Once a day, they will dump out a vat of yesterday's leftover Skyline Chili and infuse some water from the leftover KI Salad mix.  

[Stoan]

11 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

Soak City's Prestige Pass area will be in the large grassy area and will have a boom box playing top hits from Van Halen and Twisted Sister. Once a day, they will dump out a vat of yesterday's leftover Skyline Chili and infuse some water from the leftover KI Salad mix.  

Infused Skyline chili water?

[disco2000]

19 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

Soak City's Prestige Pass area will be in the large grassy area and will have a boom box playing top hits from Van Halen and Twisted Sister. Once a day, they will dump out a vat of yesterday's leftover Skyline Chili and infuse some water from the leftover KI Salad mix.  

 

So does the leftover Skyline Chili take the place of the bagged snacks or is this an addition 

 

Based on what I have heard and read, Skyline infused water would an improvement over what was provided 

 

 

 

[BeeastFarmer]

18 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

 

So does the leftover Skyline Chili take the place of the bagged snacks or is this an addition 

 

Based on what I have heard and read, Skyline infused water would an improvement over what was provided 

 

 

 

It replaces it. When it's gone, it's gone. Dumped right out in the grass.

[disco2000]

Well we are talking in the Prestige pass thread and that was added along with improvements for folks with that pass in 2023 that may or may not be on the table come 2023.  And just think they paid a premium to get infused water 

Maybe it is time to create a 2023 Park thread since people that don't care about the prestige pass may miss out on all the griping about nothing new being added for 2023...

[disco2000]

^Exactly.  Being a regional/local park in close proximity to so many that has a very strong season passholder base, people will renew even if nothing is added because the value is too great, especially now with the meal and drink plans.  Where else can you be fed all summer (and weekends in fall and winter) for $100?  People spend more than that in a mini-quick trip to the grocery every week. 

Simply put, the cost/hour of entertainment value is a fraction of almost any other entertainment venue. 

Of course if enough time went by with no new additions and the park started to look run-down and not being kept up, then yeah they will start to see a decline in pass renewals.

[chad_1138]

So, since the park isn't open to the public this weekend, does that mean we should expect to see double the amount of downgrades next weekend?

[robintodd]

2 minutes ago, chad_1138 said:

So, since the park isn't open to the public this weekend, does that mean we should expect to see double the amount of downgrades next weekend?

Back on the topic at hand, where as I do see the value of a Gold and Platinum pass I never saw the value of prestige.  I would be surprised if they even offer it after next season because it seems to be more confusing and more trouble than it is worth currently.

Instead I would love to see them open the International Restaurant more often. I think the desert viewing option was a great idea, but was obviously overpriced originally.  It's better to price something low and after seeing great demand raise the price than doing the opposite.

If there is a VIP section to put people in the park, IR is it.  There could even be a small buffett up there.

[disco2000]

15 minutes ago, chad_1138 said:

So, since the park isn't open to the public this weekend, does that mean we should expect to see double the amount of downgrades next weekend?

 

Why yes we will see downgrades LOL, 

For Haunt nights, the VIP now closes at 8pm instead of park close.  Right now that means it will be open for 2 hours on Friday's for people to get their infused water fix LOL....or do they simply not open it at all on Fridays.  And then on Saturday it will be final call for warm infused water at 8pm although the park is open for 4 more hours.

 

[BeeastFarmer]

9 hours ago, disco2000 said:

 

Why yes we will see downgrades LOL, 

For Haunt nights, the VIP now closes at 8pm instead of park close.  Right now that means it will be open for 2 hours on Friday's for people to get their infused water fix LOL....or do they simply not open it at all on Fridays.  And then on Saturday it will be final call for warm infused water at 8pm although the park is open for 4 more hours.

 

You have got it all wrong.  For Haunt, instead of the snacks for the two hour Friday night VIP area, they will have the attendant throw the leftover beans and rice  from Hanks to Prestige Passholders.  This has been in the fridge ever since the previous Sunday.  I heard it from the Dippin' Dots guy.