Kings Island Prestige Pass

[chibul]

1 minute ago, TombRaiderFTW said:

Oh! I misunderstood. You're absolutely right. Perhaps that's the thing I'm not taking into account here when expecting how many of these things will sell.

Yeah, I personally don't think it's worth it. If you're a Gold member, it's 2x the price to upgrade to the Gold version of Prestige. Same for Platinum. I think if you're the type that goes 3-4 times a week I could see the benefit, with the greater discounts, bring a friend passes and the front of the line (not Fast Lane, but front of the line - is there going to be a THIRD queue at every ride?) pass. But for the average passholder who goes maybe 3-5 times a season? I don't think it's worth paying double the price. 

[jsus]

4 minutes ago, chibul said:

You actually would lose benefits going from Platinum to the base Prestige. The base Prestige doesn't let you into the other parks - that's Prestige+ which is $400 (2x the price of Platinum). 

Base Prestige is Prestige Gold

Prestige+ is Prestige Platinum

[chibul]

20 minutes ago, jsus said:

Base Prestige is Prestige Gold

Prestige+ is Prestige Platinum

Right. Why they didn't just name them those things is beyond me, because it would've prevented a lot of confusion. 

[jsus]

1 minute ago, chibul said:

Right. Why they didn't just name them those things is beyond me, because it would've prevented a lot of confusion. 

Your guess is as good as mine, seeing as the traditional nomenclature is sticking around for 2023, at least at select parks.  See MI Adventure with standard (Silver) Season Pass and Platinum Pass.

Passholders should know by now that Gold is a certain feature set for the home park, and Platinum is for the entire chain.

But then this is the same company that puts out merchandise that doesn't use the park's IP (e.g. some random font on a shirt instead of a ride or park logo)...  Sometimes I wonder.

[chibul]

4 minutes ago, jsus said:

Your guess is as good as mine, seeing as the traditional nomenclature is sticking around for 2023, at least at select parks.  See MI Adventure with standard (Silver) Season Pass and Platinum Pass.

Passholders should know by now that Gold is a certain feature set for the home park, and Platinum is for the entire chain.

But then this is the same company that puts out merchandise that doesn't use the park's IP (e.g. some random font on a shirt instead of a ride or park logo)...  Sometimes I wonder.

Yeah, looks like all the parks actually - or at least Cedar Point, KI and Carowinds so far. All three have Terms & Conditions page that link to 2023 T&C for Gold, Platinum, Prestige and Prestige+ passes.

[jsus]

3 minutes ago, chibul said:

Yeah, looks like all the parks actually - or at least Cedar Point, KI and Carowinds so far. All three have Terms & Conditions page that link to 2023 T&C for Gold, Platinum, Prestige and Prestige+ passes.

My impression is that Prestige is a new tier above the existing passes, given the price points, again as a "Prestige" version to complement the existing passes.  It was bad enough when they tried to do away with Gold at KI, imagine them doubling the price from 2022 to 2023.  Just trying not to assume since they haven't announced the offerings for each park yet.  

[VioletCoronet50]

Instead of doing 2 hours before the park opens they could do 1 hour before the park opens and 1 hour after the park closes. Just an idea though.

[jsus]

1 minute ago, VioletCoronet50 said:

Instead of doing 2 hours before the park opens they could do 1 hour before the park opens and 1 hour after the park closes. Just an idea though.

Why would they have a VIP entrance open after the park closes…?

[Old_Bearcat]

Summer pass will be available in 2023, along with Gold/Platinum/Prestige/Prestige+:

Cedar Point– Summer Pass is valid for admission from park opening through Labor Day. A summer Pass is not good for entrance to Cedar Point Shores.

Kings Island-Summer Pass is valid from park opening through Labor Day.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/legal/season-pass-terms

 

[BeeastFarmer]

5 minutes ago, Old_Bearcat said:

Summer pass will be available in 2023, along with Gold/Platinum/Prestige/Prestige+:

Cedar Point– Summer Pass is valid for admission from park opening through Labor Day. A summer Pass is not good for entrance to Cedar Point Shores.

Kings Island-Summer Pass is valid from park opening through Labor Day.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/legal/season-pass-terms

 

What are you saying on your last two lines?  The font is unreadable.

[VioletCoronet50]

1 minute ago, BeeastFarmer said:

What are you saying on your last two lines?  The font is unreadable.

I think that’s just the link to the all the prestige pass information 

[IndyGuy4KI]

If they are trying to appeal to brand new pass holders, then you would think they would give you the rest of 2022 with this pass with all the extra perks kicking in next year. 

[jsus]

20 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

If they are trying to appeal to brand new pass holders, then you would think they would give you the rest of 2022 with this pass with all the extra perks kicking in next year. 

If only they had that idea...  Oh yeah that's the normal early pass sale offer for the last several years.  And applies to Prestige Passes.

And some of the new Prestige-specific offerings are specifically slated to start in 2023 (e.g. Preferred Parking, Preferred Entrance, waterpark VIP area).

With the FAQ stating:

Quote

What Prestige and Prestige+ benefits do I get immediately?

For 2022, Passholders will receive all the presented benefits excluding preferred parking, preferred entrance, and the reserved waterpark area. These benefits will be available in 2023.

 

[homestar92]

So at first I was like "who's this for"?

But then I realized, most of my visits are just a quick little one-hour or less visit after work, where I grab a meal and maybe catch a ride. But that means I ride almost exclusively rides like Racer, Adventure Express, The Bat. Things that rarely have any line at all on weekdays. But the single skip-the-line pass per visit means that my quick little half hour visits will allow a ride on literally anything I want. So I can maybe ride Backlot or Invertigo more than once a year. Or Flight of Fear. Plus, if the perks are good at every park, I can use my skip-the-line pass during my annual CP visit on Steel Vengeance and buy just a regular Fast Lane because I don't find the other Fast Lane Plus rides all that appealing (especially since most are part of ERT already). In the past I just suck it up and stand in line because I don't want to pay for Fast Lane Plue, but regular Fast Lane doesn't feel worthwhile. This changes the equation entirely.

VIP area is meh, unless they are significantly better than what's offered this year.

[disco2000]

^and hope they limit the quantity of prestige passes sold or you still may be back to Racer using your one-time front of the line pass their lol.

I see visions of some of the October Sundays where FL line is longer than regular line cause everyone is redeeming their free fastlane lol....

 

Edited to set the record straight since people keep replying to this post thinking I don't know what the front of the line pass means - I HAVE ALWAYS UNDERSTOOD AND I AM FULLY AWARE THAT THE FRONT OF THE LINE PASS IS A ONE TIME USE FOR ONE RIDE PER VISIT AND IT IS NOT A FAST LINE WRISTBAND....I HAVE USED THE ONE TIME VOUCHER BEFORE GOING BACK TO AT LEAST 2016 AND I AM WELL AWARE OF WHAT THEY ARE AND HOW THEY ARE USED...

I was making a sarcastic comment that apparently people miss what lol and  can imply in that situation...

[jsus]

29 minutes ago, homestar92 said:

Plus, if the perks are good at every park, I can use my skip-the-line pass during my annual CP visit on Steel Vengeance and buy just a regular Fast Lane because I don't find the other Fast Lane Plus rides all that appealing (especially since most are part of ERT already). 

It doesn't specifically say but implies that the non-admission and general parking benefits may not carry over beyond the home park.  Need to reach out to the park for clarification on that, though.

Regardless, KI is 1 daily front-of-line pass.  CP is 1 daily FastLane entry pass (not a wristband, just a 1-time pass).  So you'd still end up waiting in line.  They don't specify that it's FLP, just FL, though that could be an oversight.

23 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

^and hope they limit the quantity or you still may be back to Racer using your front of the line pass their lol.

I see visions of some of the October  Sundays where FL line is longer than regular line cause everyone is redeeming their free fastlane....

They are limiting the quantity.  1 per day per Prestige Pass holder and a Prestige Pass is ~$150 more than the comparable non-Prestige pass.  How many Gold Pass holders do you expect will see these benefits and sign up to pay at least double for their pass?

[FUN&ONLY!]

I think many people are under the impression that the new Prestige Pass System is a subscription service. IT IS NOT! Cedar Fair lists the prices of the passes by their monthly rate on a payment plan because it probably seems cheaper. You still need to make a down payment and keep making monthly payments if you don’t pay up front. It is exactly like the Gold and Platinum Pass payment plans.

I think the one Front of the Line Pass per visit will simply allow a group to wait in the Fast Lane line instead of the standby line for one attraction. I don’t see a new third line being created.

Also, some of the Prestige+ perks like access to VIP Areas and Preferred Parking may only work at the other parks that offer Prestige Passes which are Cedar Point and Carowinds.

The unlimited VIP Area access is interesting. Since it sounds like the VIP Areas will be permanent, it would be nice to see actual permanent VIP Areas constructed instead of just tents.

I believe the early 2 hour entry is only 2 hours of exclusive entry through an alternate entrance and not two hours of ERT. I hope Kings Island revamps and reopens the old passholder entrance because if Kings Island just dedicated a few turnstiles to Prestige Passholders, it would probably not be any faster because other pass holders and ticket holders might not know the difference and use the wrong turnstiles.

The current passholder entrance looks really bad, and the front gate could also use a revamp. This off-season would present a perfect opportunity to revamp the passholder entrance for Prestige Passholders and revamp the main gate as well.

[disco2000]

29 minutes ago, jsus said:

It doesn't specifically say but implies that the non-admission and general parking benefits may not carry over beyond the home park.  Need to reach out to the park for clarification on that, though.

Regardless, KI is 1 daily front-of-line pass.  CP is 1 daily FastLane entry pass (not a wristband, just a 1-time pass).  So you'd still end up waiting in line.  They don't specify that it's FLP, just FL, though that could be an oversight.

They are limiting the quantity.  1 per day per Prestige Pass holder and a Prestige Pass is ~$150 more than the comparable non-Prestige pass.  How many Gold Pass holders do you expect will see these benefits and sign up to pay at least double for their pass?

I am not talking about the one per day front of the line paper, I am talking about how many Prestige passes will they make available - is it limited or unlimited?

Search here and nobody thought the park would sell out season long Fast Lane and they do every year quickly...and they are a lot more than $150.

I think you underestimate how many people will buy.  I could see people not buy season long Fast Lane and opt for this instead.  I know people that this is what they will do  I think demand for this pass will be higher than we all think...

People have already purchased the Prestage pass with all these unknowns...

[Pagoda Gift Shop]

I hope not.  I think having another type of pass is confusing.  I would have preferred they continued with additional "a la carte" options for enhancement which they have been using for Funpix, the meal plans, etc. 

[Coasterteam]

jeez Season FLP (for JUST Kings Island, all parks is $999) is starting at $799 this summer

Was $550 last year. 

If you get the new Prestige pass and SFLP, that'll be $1,100

[jsus]

6 minutes ago, Coasterteam said:

jeez Season FLP (for JUST Kings Island, all parks is $999) is starting at $799 this summer

Was $550 last year. 

If you get the new Prestige pass and SFLP, that'll be $1,100

CP only is $950, with the same all parks option for $999.  Only $49 more at that point is a no-brainer on Prestige+/Platinum...

28 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

I am not talking about the one per day front of the line paper, I am talking about how many Prestige passes will they sell - is it limited or unlimited?

Search here and nobody thought the park would sell out season long Fast Lane and they do every year quickly...and they are a lot more than $150.

I think you underestimate how many people will buy.  I could see people not buy season long Fast Lane and opt for this instead.  I know people that this is what they will do  I think demand for this pass will be higher than we all think...

People have already purchased the Prestage pass with all these unknowns...

What don't you understand?  Prestige Pass is inherently limited by pricing it as a premium product.  That could easily cut sales in half from Gold/Platinum levels.  That reduced number of passes gets 1 front of line pass per day, whenever they should choose to visit that season.  Not all day FLP where they all must rush to use it on a select few days.

Limits on limits on limits.

Why do they need to put saying that each park will only sell X Prestige and Y Prestige+ passes (and/or Z total Prestige+ chain-wide)?  What benefit does that really do anyone?  Certainly not Cedar Fair, and not the guests who would like to buy it.

Season Pass Fast Lane Plus is a whole other beast.  Especially given how absurdly low they priced it early on, compared to the $100+/day going rate peak season.  When you have guests who normally would spring for several days of FLP, or they could get it for the whole season, that's a no brainer for them.

As for selling out?  That's based on a business decision to put in a cap based on logic you're not privy to.  Reality is that if they sell too many, that means that they priced it too low.  Price it high, set a cap, and let everyone else pay the daily rate.

Those who would pay for several days or all season FLP do it because they have the money to burn, and for them, it's worth it to be able to go often, ride a whole lot, but wait a little.  Not skip one line and then wait 1+ hour each time they want to go back on Orion.

Sure some will probably back down from Gold/Platinum + SPFLP to Prestige(+).  Likely not a significant volume, which only provides a minimal negation of the huge drop-off in impact on ride-length caused by 1 daily front of line pass all season vs. rushing to get everyone to use their one all-day FLP on a select few days.

But sure, enjoy your doomsday prophecies...

[NegativeGs]

Question. If I upgrade my daughter's 2022 KI Gold Pass today to a 2023 Prestige+ Pass, does it cover her entrance to Cedar Point this Saturday?

[jsus]

3 minutes ago, NegativeGs said:

Question. If I upgrade my daughter's 2022 KI Gold Pass today to a 2023 Prestige+ Pass, does it cover her entrance to Cedar Point this Saturday?

Ask the park, or @DonHelbig.

A new 2023 Prestige+ Pass would include admission and parking, amongst other benefits, for the rest of the season.  Theoretically a renewal should trigger the same but it's best to get word from the park directly.

[BSnow]

6 hours ago, chad_1138 said:

The drink and dining plans are available for 2023.  $130 for dining, and $34.99 for drinks.  Did a dry run on upgrading my gold pass to this new one and all of the ads-one are available for purchase now.

I can't find anything, renewals included,  for 2023 other than the Prestige and Prestige+ pass options.   Seems odd that they are making current passholders pay full price for these new options.  My concern was that the all season dining plan would be axed for 2023 with the rising cost of food.  The Farmhouse Kitchen and Grill at CP needs to be replicated and brought to KI!  Their steak and potatoes are amazingly good for an amusement park.  

[disco2000]

So if they oversell the Presige pass and you never can park in preferred or use the VIP lounge, you are ok with that?  I could certainly see the passholder that comes to the park later in the day not being able to use either one if the demand for the pass is high and not capped.

Unlike the season long fastlane where you will still get a wristband if they sold out FL for the day and there are many opportunities to still use said FL, as it stands now, the preferred lot and VIP lounge is much more limited in capacity.

Unless they increase the supply, the demand could overly exceed what is available....or maybe build a queue for the VIP lounge lol...

And let's face it, there are more unknowns than knowns about this pass program right now...

It isn't doomsday it is devil's advocate and the park does learn things by throwing these out early and see response here and on social media...they listen, learn, and improve and we will see changes of the Prestige between now and opening day as they listen to customers and try to improve on the offering...

Remember duiing the offseason of  second year of meal plan when they changed the meal plan to specific windows instead of just 4 hours apart.  No doubt the outcry here and social media before the season started resulted in the the 4 hour window we have now. 

 

[jsus]

29 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

So if they oversell the Presige pass and you never can park in preferred or use the VIP lounge, you are ok with that?

Unless they increase the supply, the demand could overly exceed what is available....or maybe build a queue for the VIP lounge lol...

It isn't doomsday it is devil's advocate and the park does learn things by throwing these out early and see response here and on social media...they listen, learn, and improve and we will see changes of the Prestige between now and opening day as they listen to customers and try to improve on the offering...

Remember duiing the offseason of  second year of meal plan when they changed the meal plan to specific windows instead of just 4 hours apart.  No doubt the outcry here and social media before the season started resulted in the the 4 hour window we have now. 

Preferred Parking is a limited quantity item that is on a space-available basis.  It could well fill up with guests who paid the full rate at the toll plaza.  It's not a guarantee.  It's like a hotel loyalty program that grants a room upgrade upon availability.  Or a rental car rate with upgrade upon availability.  Get there when it's not available?  You just get the standard offering you reserved (in this case, general parking).  You also are addressing that at me personally, even though I'm not likely to go with a 2023 Prestige+ Pass, and intentionally park farther away from most places for personal reasons.

CP was giving its lounges away during CP 150 and you'd still be hard-pressed to see them in use.  Personally, there's little value in that anyway when equipped with all-season dining and drinks, and a smartphone battery that lasts me through the day.  No need to lounge around in one location.  The lounge could also fill up with guests who pay the daily rate for all anyone knows.  But guess what?  They don't expect that, because the lounges have generally been highly under-utilized.  Unless you've been to KI this year and seen theirs packed already.

It is indeed doomsaying to profess that the worst case scenario will happen.

What even is with all this straw man nonsense from you?  You seem to think that I think CFEC is infallible and will never listen to feedback anyway.  Like, what?

All-season dining initially had a 2-hour interval between meals.  They went to 4.  Some complained, but the reality is that's reasonable for one person redeeming both meals (even if it could come in handy on shorter visits to take the second to go).  Then, they wanted to change up the terms of the program, not only after selling passes with the 4-hour window, but early in the year with Knott's guests having already used the 4-hour window.  They wanted to make it impossible to use by cramming all pass holders with all-season dining into narrow 90-120 minute windows around noon and 6pm.  It was pointed out that this was unreasonable, including by myself, both because they had sold passes under the 4-hour terms, and because those passes valid at Knott's had already been subject to those terms.  Changing after the fact was thus wrong.  They realized their mistake and corrected this.

Basically all of the perks of Prestige over Gold and Platinum are essentially pure profit.  Much like FastLane (Plus).  Both are premium products, ways to get more money out of the guest.  Sure they could limit the numbers they sell.  Or they could just raise prices if they sell like hotcakes.  Why set a limit and turn guests away when you can just let higher prices do it for you?

[FireHawk44]

6 hours ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

I like these new passes. I think the pricing is pretty fair for what you get. It is interesting that Kings Island lists Free Fall Daytime Visits and Free Haunt and Winterfest Visits separately as if the Gold Pass will no longer include free Haunt and Winterfest visits. However, I know that with other parks in the chain, Haunt is not included in benefits, so that may be why Haunt and Winterfest are listed separately.

Which park is Haunt not included?

[FireHawk44]

4 hours ago, Old_Bearcat said:

Summer pass will be available in 2023, along with Gold/Platinum/Prestige/Prestige+:

Cedar Point– Summer Pass is valid for admission from park opening through Labor Day. A summer Pass is not good for entrance to Cedar Point Shores.

Kings Island-Summer Pass is valid from park opening through Labor Day.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/legal/season-pass-terms

 

Summer pass is jus the old regular pass, which is what made the gold passes beneficial.

[IndyGuy4KI]

3 hours ago, jsus said:

If only they had that idea...  Oh yeah that's the normal early pass sale offer for the last several years.  And applies to Prestige Passes.

And some of the new Prestige-specific offerings are specifically slated to start in 2023 (e.g. Preferred Parking, Preferred Entrance, waterpark VIP area).

With the FAQ stating:

Maybe I was not clear in my post  The normal yearly sales in the past, it is listed at the top, not buried under a drop down. For someone who is not a current pass holder might just glance at the offerings and not think this is for the rest of 2022 because it is not clearly stated at the top. That was the point of my post.

[BruceWayneWins]

I just don't see the value in upgrading from Gold to this.