2023 General Kings Island Discussion

[Stoan]

1 hour ago, Taylor.B03 said:

I'm not there today but from the information I have at the moment from various here say sources, someone in Action Zone may of had a weapon on them, security allegedly told people in the area to leave the area asap while police allegedly went to the scene. I cannot confirm anything at this time. 

Kings Island Facebook group is saying a bunch of cops showed up and someone might have tried to bring in a gun. Again this is all hearsay.

[SpectralBeacon]

21 hours ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

The landscaping is VERY lacking compared to past years. The many trees cut down does not look good as well as the lack of mulching.

Landscaping takes a bit of time to get fully prepared and landscapers have their hands very full behind the scenes during this time of year, give em' some time and the park will be looking great! (I was on the landscaping team last year and learned first hand how much work goes into everything with a relatively small team). There was also a wind storm not too long ago that ended up damaging a lot of trees unfortunately and they have to be taken care of for guest safety.

[disco2000]

Incident has made the news.

https://www.wlwt.com/article/armed-suspect-apprehended-outside-of-kings-island/43609086?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot

[MDMC01]

I was in and out of the park today, and while it was crazy busy and some of my go-to rides weren't operating (those being Bat, Delirium and Adventure Express), I still had a good time. Started with Orion, rode Red Racer (I can tell the retrack improved things! ) and WindSeeker. I then left to attend a board game event at my church and came back for the last hour and rode Diamondback (which was actually pretty fun!). And although it was not yet open, Grain and Grill looked pretty slick (at least from the outside).

[FUN&ONLY!]

23 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

Incident has made the news.

https://www.wlwt.com/article/armed-suspect-apprehended-outside-of-kings-island/43609086?utm_campaign=snd-autopilot

It is good to see that the security protocols were working as intended as the armed suspect was never able to enter the park.

[silver2005]

So I thought it was an anomaly that Mystic Timbers was hauling earlier in the day due to the rain, but it was still hauling when it dried and warmed up, too.  Seems like it'll have a very good year. 

[FUN&ONLY!]

5 minutes ago, silver2005 said:

So I thought it was an anomaly that Mystic Timbers was hauling earlier in the day due to the rain, but it was still hauling when it dried and warmed up, too.  Seems like it'll have a very good year. 

I wish Mystic Timbers’ lighting package from Winterfest would come back. I thought it was really cool and was bummed not to see it this season.

[Benjamin22]

7 minutes ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

I wish Mystic Timbers’ lighting package from Winterfest would come back. I thought it was really cool and was bummed not to see it this season.

Do you have a picture of the light package? I don’t recall how it looked. 

[Tr0y]

10 hours ago, PKIDelirium said:

It's like the painters and construction crews know what they're doing. Crazy, huh?

It was never a question of whether or not the painters knew what they were doing, but a question if the park was actually going to paint the whole thing. Unlike what they did to The Racer when they didn’t bother to paint the supports where the turnaround is. From what I gather from Don’s reply it sounds like the Diamondback is being completely painted. Which like many, I’m happy for.

[Snowball]

22 minutes ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

I wish Mystic Timbers’ lighting package from Winterfest would come back. I thought it was really cool and was bummed not to see it this season.

Without going into too much detail, that was a special thing for Winterfest. I wouldn't be surprised to see it come back for Winterfest though.

[FUN&ONLY!]

32 minutes ago, Benjamin22 said:

Do you have a picture of the light package? I don’t recall how it looked. 

I personally did not take any pictures, but I found this video on Twitter:

3 minutes ago, Snowball said:

Without going into too much detail, that was a special thing for Winterfest. I wouldn't be surprised to see it come back for Winterfest though.

That’s a bummer, but I guess it’s one more thing to look forward to to for Winterfest if it does return.

[Oldiesmann]

The incident in Action Zone was weird. Like others here I have heard various stories about what actually happened, but the entire area was evacuated fairly quickly. We were in Chicken Shack when it happened and several people from security and (presumably) park police went running towards Congo Falls, which was quickly evacuated. Shortly thereafter the rest of the area was evacuated and the Coasters gift shop and Chicken Shack closed. We were initially told we could stay in Chicken Shack if we already ordered food, otherwise we had to get out. A short time later a supervisor (not sure what his position was - I'm assuming an area manager of some sort) came in and told us we all had to leave and could come back later to get our food even if we had already ordered it. They quickly dispersed anyone standing around outside of Festhaus as well. 5-10 minutes later an announcement came over the PA saying that Action Zone was now reopened and they apologized for the inconvenience. We returned to Chicken Shack and were able to get our food without any problems.

[trint2004]

15 hours ago, KIghostguy said:

In my opinion, there would be less blowback if this was advertised as a preview weekend instead of opening day. Advertising something as opening day sets the expectations that most or all major off-season projects are completed. Advertising it as a preview weekend(s) would better keep guests' expectations in-check for this year.

Exactly my thoughts. If I’m not mistaken didn’t we have freezing weather two weeks ago? I don’t see them wasting money on flowers and landscaping to have it freeze and die. Then replace it again, that would make the cost double.

 

17 hours ago, johnjniehaus said:

I think after the pandemic all amusement parks took a pretty hard financial hit and while I would hope that they have been able to recoup some money by now, I also think that park leadership gets a bit greedy and wants to see huge profits and part of making more money is not spending a lot of money. So you know cut things like landscaping that at the end of the day don't get people into the park. I'm assuming very few people go to Kings Island just to look at the landscaping and trees. Or in order to cut labor they only have half of the food locations open. The people who are going to buy food are still going to and they will just have to wait twice as long to do so. To me pass holders with meal/drink plans are the ones who really get penalized with closed dinning locations. 

Unfortunately, I think that Cedar Fair silently has been making some changes that are not totally unlike Six Flags (just six flags has been pretty vocal about changes and has made the news over enthusiast backlash and angry customers) However, preview day this year at KI reminded me of opening day last year at Six Flags St Louis. Kings Island had 4 big rides closed (Adv Express, The Bat, Delirium, and Drop Tower). Six Flags St Louis also had some big rides closed for opening day in 2022 (The Boss, Mr Freeze Reverse Blast, Xcalibur) and both parks had probably half their dinning locations closed. 

I also think that some of the staff didn't seem to be "ready" or very well trained. I do want to say I appreciate all the good staff that typically KI has but yesterday (preview day) there were a few that just seemed unprepared. One of the seat assignment people on Diamondback consistently left unfilled rows, there was no seat assignment on The Racer, and whenever I went to Auntie Anne's in rivertown there was a lot of mistakes. I ordered regular pretzel nuggets and a cup of water but got charged $4 and something for a fountain drink and whenever I asked if the water wasn't free anymore the girl didn't seem to know so the "manager" came over and took it off. Then whenever she filled my order she gave me the "pigs in a blanket" as I would call them but basically the hotdogs in pretzels however, I just took it seeing as they probably wouldn't be allowed to take it back. 

So needless to say, so far I am unimpressed by the 2023 season seeing as many of the off season projects are incomplete and the park overall is just not up to previous years standards. I feel like it's extremely noticeable though because we just came off one of the greatest seasons at the park where everything looked amazing and staff was excellent and frankly it was the 50th so it was supposed to be amazing. However, the golden standard has definitely relaxed quite a bit for the 51st season. 

After all of that I'm still excited about seeing the new projects completed and obviously with more experience the staff will improve. I'm just hoping they can get some of the closed rides up and running or at least give some descent reason that they aren't. It makes me a little more understanding if there's a "reason" behind an action. 

your complaint about food service. Be patient with the new staff members. They all get trained before the season, but remember reading a handbook, and listening to others talk about your position, and acting out scenarios in a class room is far different than working with actual customers. A lot of food service employees are minors also, this could very well be their first job. We all know how nervous we were at our first jobs and I’m sure we all made silly mistakes too, and we learned from those mistakes. 

[disco2000]

Who would have thought it would be a juvenile...

And don't these types of articles typically name the spokesperson they got the info from...

 

https://www.fox19.com/2023/04/16/juvenile-arrested-accused-having-weapons-kings-island-parks-first-day-season/

[super7]

Cedar Fair parks are becoming a good place to get hurt in a gang fight.    Worlds of fun had a massive fight and a stabbing on opening weekend.   Knotts had major issues recently as well as KI last year 
 

this is absolutely because of the people that Cedar Fair targets with cheap season passes and the focus on mostly thrill rides    This is the clientele that they want and they can’t survive without them apparently     

The new chaperone policy at Worlds of Fun is proof of that.   
One only has to have a chaperone after 4 PM.    There is no way they can police this if the people are getting into the park un chaperoned before 4 PM. It’s all security theater

I think the worlds of fun incident happen in the parking lot as well. The parking lots have virtually no security

 

 

 

[Snowball]

1 hour ago, disco2000 said:

Who would have thought it would be a juvenile...

And don't these types of articles typically name the spokesperson they got the info from...

 

https://www.fox19.com/2023/04/16/juvenile-arrested-accused-having-weapons-kings-island-parks-first-day-season/

Incidents like these really show the importance of speaking up if you see something suspicious. The article mentions that a guest reported seeing someone acting suspiciously, which resulted in this person being caught.

[FUN&ONLY!]

4 hours ago, super7 said:

Cedar Fair parks are becoming a good place to get hurt in a gang fight.    Worlds of fun had a massive fight and a stabbing on opening weekend.   Knotts had major issues recently as well as KI last year 
 

this is absolutely because of the people that Cedar Fair targets with cheap season passes and the focus on mostly thrill rides    This is the clientele that they want and they can’t survive without them apparently     

The new chaperone policy at Worlds of Fun is proof of that.   
One only has to have a chaperone after 4 PM.    There is no way they can police this if the people are getting into the park un chaperoned before 4 PM. It’s all security theater

I think the worlds of fun incident happen in the parking lot as well. The parking lots have virtually no security

 

 

 

Kings Island had the biggest problems at the start of the 2021 season. Since then, there has been a noticeable increase in park security. I also don’t think that the protocols Cedar Fair are implementing are just “security theater.” If that were the case, the suspected gunman would have probably made his way into the park and not have been stopped. Even though I am very much against chaperone policies, the policy at Worlds of Fun at least gives park security the authority to remove minors who they are suspicious of without having to wait for them to act up.

[IndyGuy4KI]

Opening weekend seems to have been a big hit for fun at Kings Island. Yeah, Adventure Port is not totally together yet, but it didn't seem to stop the ones that were there from really enjoying the nice weather and a weekend of Kings Island.

 

 

[MDMC01]

2 hours ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

Kings Island had the biggest problems at the start of the 2021 season. Since then, there has been a noticeable increase in park security. I also don’t think that the protocols Cedar Fair are implementing are just “security theater.” If that were the case, the suspected gunman would have probably made his way into the park and not stopped. Even though I am very much against chaperone policies, the policy at Worlds of Fun at least gives park security the authority to remove minors who they are suspicious of without having to wait for them to act up.

When I came back into the park Saturday night, I very much noted an increased security presence in the park. As a note, I did not learn about the incident until I got home that night.

[FUN&ONLY!]

Are paper maps still available this season?

[DJSkyFoxx]

On 4/15/2023 at 10:36 PM, silver2005 said:

So I thought it was an anomaly that Mystic Timbers was hauling earlier in the day due to the rain, but it was still hauling when it dried and warmed up, too.  Seems like it'll have a very good year. 

Best ride I've EVER had on MT was Pride Night of last year. It ran so fast I could not even begin to keep up with it's transitions. I wasn't the only one who noticed it either. I ride MT the most out of all the coasters in the park as it is my favorite in the park and I have had some pretty incredible rides on it the last few years but that ride experience in particular will always stand out as the most insane one I've had to date. 

As far as opening weekend went, I had a lot of fun. I noticed a lot of the things other folks on here are saying as well, but it didn't stop me from having a good time. If I had but one complaint the entire time it was the incredibly lackluster food I received Saturday at Jukebox. I ordered a patty melt and the bun was a charcoal briquette and the burgers were insanely greasy. I realize that they were busy and again, opening weekend/new staff,etc, however I was really dissatisfied with the way my order came out.  I am hoping that won't be a repeat occurrence. 

Ride-ops were super friendly and accommodating which I always appreciate as I always like to politely ask for certain seats when possible on certain coasters and they 99.9% of the time always grant my request which is awesome. Just be kind to folks. It goes a long way. I always try to treat everyone with kindness since without the staff we literally would not have a park. 

I felt the merch game really stepped up this season. Loved seeing all the new stuff and the wider variety for all tastes available.  

Overall, good weekend. I know it was already asked, but does anyone have any idea what could possibly be going on with The Bat, Delirium and Drop Tower? I know Drop Tower was down for the count due to a lightening strike last season but I was surprised to still see it down still. Seats uncovered and all. And I was wondering if possibly Delirium was now awaiting a part from Germany since I've noticed it goes down every few years because of a part it requires from overseas. And I was curious about The Bat since it's usually a fairly reliable coaster. 

[Stoan]

10 hours ago, FUN&ONLY! said:

Are paper maps still available this season?

I was told last year they discontinued paper maps, which makes me and my collection sad

 

[jzarley]

I haven’t been to KI since 2017 (live in Orlando now and of course the pandemic…) but am definitely planning on making a trip this year. (I haven’t ridden Orion yet!!) I really enjoyed the opening day video, although I have to say that “Italian Job” (or whatever its CF generic name is) is such an eye sore. I think the worst thing Paramount/Viacom/CBS did during their tenure was to remove the beautiful park-like area of the antique cars just to replace it with that.

[medford]

I was in line for Banshee along with my 2 sons when the evac call came out.  You could tell it wasn't a mechanical failure by the nature of the evac, they cleared out the entire que (90 min wait according to the app), I figured someone had been seriously injured or perhaps there was some sort of fire incident.  Never once was it explained there was a gun threat (though I'm not sure how much of a threat it was since it was contained outside the park, but I'm ok with being overly cautious).  I think this was probably a good thing, it reduced any sort of panic amongst the patrons while they still managed to get everyone out pretty quickly

 

Beyond that, the park was crazy busy.  My son had a baseball game that afternoon, so we shot down afterwords as we downgraded from platinum passes to gold passes and figured getting our new cards would take  a few minutes and save us time the next time.  The way they process new cards is super easy, though i do recommend they have pens available to sign the cards so that you know who's pass is who.  We got dinner but the lines were so long, we decided to bail after dinner and try again in a few weeks.

Adventure port is starting to take shape and looks like it will be a nice addition.  Not sure why Grain and Grail was not open yet, I would have thought they could have that operational from the get go.  Firs time I have had the sausage from the BBQ place, it was pretty good.  I'd still prefer the chicken, but that was all out atm and I didn't feel like waiting, so went with something different.

[disco2000]

More coming out, including it was a gun, and he climbed the fence into the park into restricted areas...

https://www.fox19.com/2023/04/17/teen-arrested-near-kings-island-had-9mm-handgun-magazine-12-bullets-police-report-says/?fbclid=IwAR3Qtm_TN0suQk3Aai80_xrZsW15j-U-LaGF0ZFR28aX_Vf3roBd4NHySQc

 

[Stoan]

I give them a month before a new guard station is set up over in the Timberwolf road

[disco2000]

16 minutes ago, Stoan said:

I give them a month before a new guard station is set up over in the Timberwolf road

Cross-threading, but maybe that is why preferred lot stayed open until close Sunday as that station can see that area.

[Joshua]

Line-jumpers were in full force this weekend. On Saturday, I witnessed numerous teens exploit the Fast Lane line to hop the fence on The Racer and group with people they know. Another girl hopscotched the WindSeeker line multiple times because she seemingly knew people in more than one group in that line. 

[DJSkyFoxx]

1 hour ago, Joshua said:

Line-jumpers were in full force this weekend. On Saturday, I witnessed numerous teens exploit the Fast Lane line to hop the fence on The Racer and group with people they know. Another girl hopscotched the WindSeeker line multiple times because she seemingly knew people in more than one group in that line. 

When my group and I were headed to Orion, we saw what appeared to be one person attempting to distract the line attendant so the others in the group could walk through the FL line. My group and I all have all season/all parks FL so we were trying to walk towards that line-up and saw this happening. The line attendant finally caught on to what was happening and had them re-route to the regular line. The disrespect is in abundance out there. I felt bad because the line attendant was trying to give good customer service but was being duped. 

[Benjamin22]

16 hours ago, disco2000 said:

Cross-threading, but maybe that is why preferred lot stayed open until close Sunday as that station can see that area.

I want to clarify that there was no one present in the preferred lot station Sunday, they just had a sign saying preferred pass people can enter.