2023 General Kings Island Discussion

[BeeastFarmer]

To demonstrate the ineptness of KI communications.... Halloween is over. Winterfest is coming. Why are you posting Halloween Haunt makeup tips on November 2nd on your socials?

[disco2000]

59 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

To demonstrate the ineptness of KI communications.... Halloween is over. Winterfest is coming. Why are you posting Halloween Haunt makeup tips on November 2nd on your socials?

It's a diversion for the bigger news today 

[Orion742]

2022 was my favorite season at KI and CF overall. They ran the parks so well. It felt like CF had everything figured out and they were adding a ton of things. All of a sudden this year it has felt to me that something is off. 2023 KI atmosphere was some of the saddest I’ve seen in years. It felt like Paramount days. CF continues to remove things and make budget cuts. It saddens me to see all of the budget cuts and low employee moral has become. I love Kings Island and I have been going for many many years and I know how good the park can be. I just hope Cedar Fair can figure some things out and maybe 2024 and 2025 will be better. I don’t want to hate on Cedar Fair because they really have taken our park to the next level I am just so passionate about KI I just don’t want it to be treated this way. Maybe this Six Flags merger will be a good thing if the parks as a whole make more money so less budget cuts are made. 

 

[rlentless]

I feel the budget cuts were made to make the bottom line look better for the merger.

[Orion-XL200]

On 11/12/2023 at 3:02 PM, Orion742 said:

2022 was my favorite season at KI and CF overall. They ran the parks so well. It felt like CF had everything figured out and they were adding a ton of things. All of a sudden this year it has felt to me that something is off. 2023 KI atmosphere was some of the saddest I’ve seen in years. It felt like Paramount days. CF continues to remove things and make budget cuts. It saddens me to see all of the budget cuts and low employee moral has become.  

 

Same here....though 2023 CP was far more amazing to me than any other park.
 

I agree with you 2022 felt like they really figured it all out. 2023 came around and it was like: "well we made it to #51, that's good enough." I used to love doing a full day at the park...my last visit, I lasted 51 before I was "KI'd out" as @malem would say. I truly can't put my finger on what it was, the atmosphere, the ride operations or the loss of a celebration feeling. 

I'm looking forward to visiting for Winterfest, trying not to get my hopes up too much.

[Taylor.B03]

This was definitely a hangover year

[Shawn Meyer]

To me, when Don decided to leave/retire from Kings Island, I found that as a shock. My last few visits seemed a little off just because I noticed Don walking the midways at Kings Island. Other than that, to me Kings Island had a repeat success year of 2022. Just my opinion though. I thought this year was fun for Kings Island.

[Orion742]

I don’t know which thread to put this question in so I guess I will here. Does anyone know if every member of your party has to be a member of a coaster club for CoasterStock? I can’t remember. Thank you in advance.

[BeeastFarmer]

21 minutes ago, Orion742 said:

I don’t know which thread to put this question in so I guess I will here. Does anyone know if every member of your party has to be a member of a coaster club for CoasterStock? I can’t remember. Thank you in advance.

Every year, yes. All attendees must be a card carrying member of an approved club.

I wonder if the event will happen next year, and if it does, will it be in high demand?

[Orion742]

Did any other parks in the CF chain offer single use FL like KI did this year? I saw them at Orion/Flight of Fear and Diamondback/Mystic Timbers but I didn’t see any at Cedar Point this year.

[Orion-XL200]

23 minutes ago, Orion742 said:

Did any other parks in the CF chain offer single use FL like KI did this year? I saw them at Orion/Flight of Fear and Diamondback/Mystic Timbers but I didn’t see any at Cedar Point this year.

They were used at CP at all of the major coasters. 

[Orion742]

1 minute ago, Orion-XL200 said:

They were used at CP at all of the major coasters. 

I must have missed them lol. I imagine they will make a lot of money with single use FL at TT2 next year if they decide to add one.

[disco2000]

6 minutes ago, Orion742 said:

I must have missed them lol. I imagine they will make a lot of money with single use FL at TT2 next year if they decide to add one.

TT2 Fastlane line will be 2 hours long 

[Orion742]

5 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

TT2 Fastlane line will be 2 hours long 

The regular line will be a walk on.

[VortexBFForever]

17 hours ago, Orion742 said:

Did any other parks in the CF chain offer single use FL like KI did this year? I saw them at Orion/Flight of Fear and Diamondback/Mystic Timbers but I didn’t see any at Cedar Point this year.

California's Great America had it for RailBlazer and (I think) Gold Striker when I went in August.

Kings Island also had it for Invertigo and Banshee  

[BoddaH1994]

On 11/15/2023 at 9:47 PM, Shawn Meyer said:

To me, when Don decided to leave/retire from Kings Island, I found that as a shock. My last few visits seemed a little off just because I noticed Don walking the midways at Kings Island. Other than that, to me Kings Island had a repeat success year of 2022. Just my opinion though. I thought this year was fun for Kings Island.

When Don decided to leave?

[BeeastFarmer]

On 1/6/2023 at 4:48 PM, Orion742 said:

The future is looking bright for KI!

This post did not age well this season.

[Tr0y]

1 hour ago, BeeastFarmer said:

This post did not age well this season.

I’m still optimistic for Kings Island. Although we got to experience some woes this season and likely, will next season. Alot of it stems from CF not being financially healthy. Kings Island is now having to pickup some of the slack for the rest of the chain. CP mind you, is in the same boat.

Attendance is up and at the end of the day Kings Island is still a very much beloved and desirable park.

If CF / SIX went under tomorrow, there would be multiple chains chomping at the bits to get a shot at owning KI.

So yes, although things may appear bad now, the future is still looking bright for Kings Island! 

[johnjniehaus]

23 minutes ago, Tr0y said:

If CF / SIX went under tomorrow, there would be multiple chains chomping at the bits to get to shot at owning it.

While nobody wants to see an amusement park chain go out of business, this is a great point that Kings Island has a proven history of being a very successful, profitable park and that's thanks to it's unwavering fans who come out to the park each year and have been for multiple generations. Everyone from the enthusiasts to the one time visitors play a part in why Kings Island is such a desirable park and it's true that it would have no problem finding a new owner if the current cedar/six chain went under

[BeeastFarmer]

58 minutes ago, Tr0y said:

I’m still optimistic for Kings Island. Although we got to experience some woes this season and likely, will next season. Alot of it stems from CF not being financially healthy. Kings Island is now having to pickup some of the slack for the rest of the chain. CP mind you, is in the same boat.

Attendance is up and at the end of the day Kings Island is still a very much beloved and desirable park.

If CF / SIX went under tomorrow, there would be multiple chains chomping at the bits to get a shot at owning KI.

So yes, although things may appear bad now, the future is still looking bright for Kings Island! 

I'm ever the optimist. But what corporate did across the chain this year was very short sighted.  I guess you take the good with the bad, though. People whine that KI is spoiled and gets everything, but when the cuts come ki was hard hit,, to the point of it not being hidden.  Anecdotally, I was at three other cf parks this summer and didn't see visible cuts. But then again, not being a regular there, I couldn't see deets. 

[IBEW_Sparky]

1 hour ago, BeeastFarmer said:

I'm ever the optimist. But what corporate did across the chain this year was very short sighted.  I guess you take the good with the bad, though. People whine that KI is spoiled and gets everything, but when the cuts come ki was hard hit,, to the point of it not being hidden.  Anecdotally, I was at three other cf parks this summer and didn't see visible cuts. But then again, not being a regular there, I couldn't see deets. 

The people that do the most whining are usually WoF, ValleyFair, or MA fans who don't understand WHY KI (and CP) are "spoiled" and don't understand that a park has to make money to take money, and there is a GOOD reason it had been 14 years since WoFs last coaster, and 16 and counting for Valleyfair's last in Renegade.  To your point, we noticed the cuts a lot more than any of those three I mentioned did, which is a little downside of being a regular at a park that is performing and operated properly.

[Orion742]

Does anyone know when Fast Lanes usually go on sale for the next season?

[jimlaheyscar]

On 12/14/2023 at 9:21 PM, Orion742 said:

Does anyone know when Fast Lanes usually go on sale for the next season?

You can buy them now.

[Orion-XL200]

Being a marketing/social media guy, I really love to look into analytics of posts. 

An interesting look into this year compared to last:

Since the start of WinterFest 2023 vs. 2022, engagements per post average stands at minus-61.04%. Comments are down minus-65.13% over last year. The metrics don’t lie. Minus-61.04. One of the largest deficits in the industry versus last year.

[TombRaiderFTW]

^ I'm not implying you're wrong, but I'm curious: What site(s) is your data based on?

[Orion-XL200]

25 minutes ago, TombRaiderFTW said:

^ I'm not implying you're wrong, but I'm curious: What site(s) is your data based on?

It came from a company I work with that has a social media monitoring tool where I can insert whatever social media presence, and get results....for this, I just entered the KI social accounts and boom. 

[disco2000]

Just now, Orion-XL200 said:

It came from a company I work with that has a social media monitoring tool where I can insert whatever social media presence, and get results....for this, I just entered the KI social accounts and boom. 

It would be interesting to see how some other CF parks compare?

I would be curious how KD, Carowinds, and Wonderland benchmark.

[Orion-XL200]

I may eventually be able to share those....kinda depends on the permissions I get and trying not to do so without hampering other goals. 

Based on a general observation without much data, since Kyle K joined the KD team, the engagement has significantly improved.

[Taylor.B03]

With the transition to X, the post view counter has been very helpful for the public to see that analytic. Unfortunately, any post (or tweet) made before analytics were made visible do not have it to be seen publicly.

It seems like the PR winners of CF this year were KD and DP. I've seen many of their posts in my feed, Dorney seems to be the best park when it comes to engaging with the most accounts, they seem to have the right people managing the account.

[DonHelbig]

8 hours ago, Taylor.B03 said:

With the transition to X, the post view counter has been very helpful for the public to see that analytic. Unfortunately, any post (or tweet) made before analytics were made visible do not have it to be seen publicly.

It seems like the PR winners of CF this year were KD and DP. I've seen many of their posts in my feed, Dorney seems to be the best park when it comes to engaging with the most accounts, they seem to have the right people managing the account.

There are social media tools available that allow you to conduct a competitor analysis and examine your competitors activities and performance going back several years.