Losantiville Mining Co. Posted August 19 Author Share Posted August 19 There is at least one night in October where the one-night HAEP costs $59, while the All-Season HAEP cost $59 total. I'd bet it was very limited in how many could be sold. If the only event upgrades we see are the addition of The Conjuring: Beyond Fear and Order of the Dragon, I can see a world where KI's Haunt (and the other Halloween Haunt events) gets review bombed into oblivion. It seems those in charge of these decisions at Six Flags do not understand how pricing tickets and using money for investments works at all. If they do understand it, they aren't very good at showing it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 12 minutes ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said: There is at least one night in October where the one-night HAEP costs $59, while the All-Season HAEP cost $59 total. I'd bet it was very limited in how many could be sold. If the only event upgrades we see are the addition of The Conjuring: Beyond Fear and Order of the Dragon, I can see a world where KI's Haunt (and the other Halloween Haunt events) gets review bombed into oblivion. It seems those in charge of these decisions at Six Flags do not understand how pricing tickets and using money for investments works at all. If they do understand it, they aren't very good at showing it. Case in point - charging to park and never filling in the potholes 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonHelbig Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 1 hour ago, disco2000 said: Yeah, we would all love to know that number. But given the rumor that season long FL sales are now uncapped (and based on the lines the past few years on busy Saturdays and Haunt Saturdays, one would probably agree they are not capped), one would have expected this money grab to be uncapped as well. Unless they truly do plan to keep the lines minimal and the attraction top notch. I guess we find out in a little over a month! But I am sure the procrastinators that were going to buy this are now ticked! Good to see the interest in Haunt remains strong with guests quick to purchase the product. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tr0y Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 2 hours ago, disco2000 said: For all those complaining that the upcharge was stupid and would fail, the season long option is now sold out.... All but confirms that Legacy CF was selling themselves short with those cheap season passes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brenthodge Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 7 hours ago, Tr0y said: All but confirms that Legacy CF was selling themselves short with those cheap season passes. This also shows their strategy. Limit the “all season limited access” to push more traffic to the pr visit product, thereby potentially getting more yield through quantity sales when people have to buy it multiple times. It’s similar to the pushback Dollywood got a few years ago during Covid reservations when they limited passholder slots, yet had lots of “daily ticket purchase” availability. Unlimited access passholders don’t make you as much money. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 9 hours ago, DonHelbig said: Good to see the interest in Haunt remains strong with guests quick to purchase the product. We both knew, and expect, the park to be busy during Haunt despite this change. People love themselves the spooky season. People have been complaining for years that Haunt is watered down and just a regurgitation of Haunt 2019, yet every year we see tons of people in the park and Fast Lane lines approaching, out the queue. People complain, but people still show up. Gotta love the people on FB claiming they bought their passes EXCLUSIVELY for Haunt but when they start charging $10 for the mazes suddenly all of the haunted houses are run-down run-of-the-mill boring snoozefests that aren't worth a nickel out of your pocket. If that's the case, why did you buy a pass just to go? Some of the biggest complainers I know were among the first to buy that pass LOL 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
super7 Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 we don’t know how many of these all season access passes that they actually sold. It seems like they are now saying that they were “sold out” to make a sense of urgency for people to buy the passes that they are now offering for $75….. we know the kind of behavior that this company engages in when selling passes 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco2000 Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 2 hours ago, super7 said: we don’t know how many of these all season access passes that they actually sold. It seems like they are now saying that they were “sold out” to make a sense of urgency for people to buy the passes that they are now offering for $75….. we know the kind of behavior that this company engages in when selling passes Now they are just toying with us. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brenthodge Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 1 hour ago, disco2000 said: Now they are just toying with us. I’m getting closer to not renewing. I’m glad I didn’t join the sheep in the line to the slaughter a few weeks ago when it all went live. 12 days to make my final decision and get my dumpster fire sale pass at SixOverGA. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I...am SteVe Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 Here's an idea; since Pass Perks actually work now, add one day of Haunt maze admission as a mid-tier reward. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback_Is_King Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 1 hour ago, I...am SteVe said: Here's an idea; since Pass Perks actually work now, add one day of Haunt maze admission as a mid-tier reward. Good idea! If you made it the high-tier reward, people might be willing to visit one or two more times and that brings in better attendance for them. And you could do a 10% off Conjuring Maze coupon as well 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 18 hours ago, super7 said: we don’t know how many of these all season access passes that they actually sold. It seems like they are now saying that they were “sold out” to make a sense of urgency for people to buy the passes that they are now offering for $75….. we know the kind of behavior that this company engages in when selling passes That’s exactly what they did. They pulled the passes off sale just long enough for KIC, Facebook, TT, etc., to start blasting out “sold out!” posts. Then, magically, the very next morning, they’re back on sale—only at a higher price. It’s not that they sold a certain number of passes. They sold however many they happened to until a set date, then jacked up the price. Same old “Price goes up September 1!” Gold Pass gimmick—just slimier. And look, for those who don’t listen to Tower Topics and for whatever reason care what I think: I’m totally fine with this IF it actually means a better product. I’ll pay for an improved experience. But if 2026 rolls around (assuming we even get Haunt—never underestimate Six’s ability to screw things up) and we’re stuck with a bunch of half-staffed, low-effort mazes besides the new ones then this whole thing’s going to blow up in their faces. That said, I get why people are mad. Folks bought passes expecting the mazes to be included—like they had been for almost 25 years. Yeah yeah, I know someone will run in waving the T&Cs saying, “Technically they can do this!” (have fun at media day, by the way). But come on—this rollout was about as shady and non-transparent as we’ve all come to expect. My take: 30% chance: They actually deliver something elevated, it catches on, and people come to see the upcharge as worth it. 70% chance: The new stuff is solid, but the rest is the same tired filler. People may feel like maybe Conjuring is worth it, but everything else is a ripoff. By 2026, sales dip, by 2027 the mazes are a Prestige perk, by 2028 they’re back in Gold, and by 2030, everything’s reverted to how it’s always been. At the end of the day, Kings Island’s Haunt worked because the mazes were included, and that’s why the lines were huge. If you wanted haunted houses specifically, there’s already plenty of competition around here. So is this going to stand alongside Dent Schoolhouse, Land of Illusion, and the rest? Or is it going to be, in my brother’s words, “a crap sandwich, hold the bread”? Your move, Kings Island. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryanJay Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 So I will say: I’m fine with them making the mazes upcharge without telling passholders, and I do know I said in previous messages that the pricing was too low for the express lanes, but I will say I think it’s misleading and unfair to yet again raise the price of an all season express pass ticket for the second time in 24 hours. Props to the park if they’re trying to limit the amount of express passes sold, but also I’d rather them just stick to a constant price and if they sell out they sell out rather than randomly changing the price without warning. Also like I know it wouldn’t be in the park’s benefit, but I wish they sold a non-express all-season haunt pass. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brenthodge Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 Interesting Carrowinds is still holding at 69. I haven’t checked to see if other parks are playing price roulette. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robintodd Posted August 20 Share Posted August 20 On 8/20/2025 at 12:32 AM, BryanJay said: So I will say: I’m fine with them making the mazes upcharge without telling passholders, and I do know I said in previous messages that the pricing was too low for the express lanes, but I will say I think it’s misleading and unfair to yet again raise the price of an all season express pass ticket for the second time in 24 hours. Props to the park if they’re trying to limit the amount of express passes sold, but also I’d rather them just stick to a constant price and if they sell out they sell out rather than randomly changing the price without warning. Also like I know it wouldn’t be in the park’s benefit, but I wish they sold a non-express all-season haunt pass. First since entry to the Conjuring is limited (just like VIP Parking) it seems wrong to sell something that is one time every visit for something with limited capacity. I think they would sell more season long if they offered a 39.99 or 49.99 tier that included one (or two) conjuring along with all mazes through the regular line. Again, we are in a capitalistic society so one could infer that they are selling alot of these, otherwise there would not be upping the price. Hard to blamke them. Capitalism is King most chase the almighty dollar. Sure the mazes used to be free and now they charge for them, kind of like putting podcasting content behind a pay wall when all content used to be free. The old swicheroo. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Losantiville Mining Co. Posted August 21 Author Share Posted August 21 It looks like new photos have gone up online for The Conjuring: Beyond Fear that show more of what this experience may look like. Have any of you purchased a ticket for TC:BF? Do you know if there is a way to choose your group or if it might be a situation where groups are chosen when you get there? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonHelbig Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 On 8/20/2025 at 11:00 AM, robintodd said: First since entry to the Conjuring is limited (just like VIP Parking) it seems wrong to sell something that is one time every visit for something with limited capacity. I think they would seel more season long if they offered a 39.99 or 49.99 tier that included one (or two) conjuring along with all mazes through the regular line. Again, we are in a capitalistic society so one should infer that they are selling alot of these, otherwise there would not be upping the price. Hard to blamke them. Capitalism is King most chase the almighty dollar. Sure the mazes used to be free and now they charge for them, kind of like putting podcasting content behind a pay wall when all content used to be free. The old swicheroo. If you think they’re selling a lot of these, I’ve got a friend that sells swamp land in Florida you might be interested in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robintodd Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 18 hours ago, DonHelbig said: If you think they’re selling a lot of these, I’ve got a friend that sells swamp land in Florida you might be interested in. Said should infer when I mean could injfer. We'll see when haunt get's here. I would think there would have to be a limit on these because the Conjuring has a limited capacity. Either way capitalism will rule the day, the stockholders must be appeased. I hate that. Corporations no longer care about their employees or their customers, just the stockholders who are often NEITHER an employee or a customer. As far as the "sold out" situation I think what happened is management changed their mind on the price. Maybe a 59.99 will be offered without Conjuring or express lane. They recognized the problem and the quickest way for the IT department to "stop selling them immediately" would be to just put them as "sold out" because that option is probably already on the system (as we saw with Coasterstock). I'm sure their IT Department took a hit when the cuts were made. I think Disney may be interested in that land for their new park. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 On 8/19/2025 at 9:47 PM, BoddaH1994 said: At the end of the day, Kings Island’s Haunt worked because the mazes were included, and that’s why the lines were huge. If you wanted haunted houses specifically, there’s already plenty of competition around here. So is this going to stand alongside Dent Schoolhouse, Land of Illusion, and the rest? I shared a similar sentiment a while back. Haunt's maze aren't always too shabby when viewed as free with admission. But once you attach a dollar value specifically to them as-is, well, there's plenty of competition in the area that frankly does it better. KI really has to bring the heat when it comes to uncharging the mazes. Even on its best days, Haunt doesn't compare. I mean, I haven't stopped thinking about Brimstone's hay ride after I first rode it a couple years ago. It had the headless horsemen, a chase with a massive piece of farm machinery and at one point, a monster takes over. My wife and I usually go to Haunt at least once, but often twice every weekend. But to tell you the truth, we were already talking about doing Land of Illusion and Cincinnati Fear Fest this year before the upcharge had even been rumored. If we're gonna pay extra anyway, might as well go where the price matches the implied value of experience. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Losantiville Mining Co. Posted August 30 Author Share Posted August 30 New Haunt merch has appeared in the Emporium over where the Haunt Store normally is. Here are some photos I took tonight of everything I noticed. The Wall A new 25th Anniversary of Halloween Haunt glow in the dark shirt A new Halloween Haunt shirt. This one is interesting for me because it really does look like it was made custom for Kings Island. You can see approximations of Orion and The Racer (with funky color schemes). It reminds me of some of the Fright Fest shirts I've seen from Six Flags. Cinema Slasher at Kings Island?? I wonder if this is from a cancelled house, although this is the only maze that I've ever seen get merchandise like this — the tote bags especially. It's really odd. New mugs, fans, and Elvira merch — oh my! That's it for the new merch I took photos of. I think we could see more come in when/if the Haunt Store is fully installed later this month. The Cinema Slasher merch is weird to see. I originally thought it might've been brought over from Carowinds... until I realized that they have Silver Scream Studios. It's Knott's Scary Farm that (actively) has a Cinema Slasher house. (For those wondering, the Halloween Horror Nights houses were called "Slaughter Sinema"). I have to wonder how much of this merch might have been from a cancelled 25 Years of Fear celebration like SCarowinds is having this Fall. It would explain the prevalence of both the 25th Anniversary merchandise, the Elvira merch, and the loads of merchandise for Cinema Slasher. One can only imagine what this year's Haunt would look like with the addition of The Conjuring, Order of the Dragon, The Gauntlet, Cinema Slasher, and any other new things that would help to celebrate Kings Island's 25 Years of Fear. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryanJay Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 The Cinema Slasher merch is so strange to me, because it’s so clearly personalized for Kings Island but very clearly isn’t generically Halloween enough to sell well without a house to tie in with, so I would not be surprised whatsoever if we were supposed to get a Cinema Slasher house and the budget for it got replaced when Six Flags made the decision that the legacy Cedar Fair haunts should all get The Conjuring Beyond Fear (I know people talked about Slaughterhouse potentially closing last season, so it could’ve taken up that space. Or honestly Killmart could fit the circus theme well enough because I know Slaughterhouse has a scareacting crew that has a cult following status and has been present in a KI haunt house since the very first seasons). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Losantiville Mining Co. Posted August 30 Author Share Posted August 30 The fact that there is so much merch for it, and no merch at all for any of the other haunted attractions. I can't imagine they'd buy so much merch for one house and then zero for any of the other ones. Haunt is my favorite season at Kings Island, so I'm very intrigued by all of this. Maybe it could've replaced KillMart or been a pre-Conjuring idea, I don't know. I think it would have been really fun if they were going to use this as a new piece of programming either in the Kings Island Theater or in the abandoned side of Action Theater. I'll mention that I think the Slasher Cinema shirt/tote bag do look like they were made by AI, but not so much that would make me not want the tote bag. Much like the PT:ON stuff, it's entirely possibly that this was made by an artist and then either added to or adjusted. Knott's is normally good about using real artists, but I don't know if this concept came from that park or not. My gripe about using generative AI for things in the park isn't entirely about how cheap it is — though it does often look really cheap — it's more about the environmental impact and the fact that there is no meaning behind the choices it makes in its art. (Not that anyone asked, but I felt the need to say it) Something I didn't put in either of my reports from tonight: the non-scare zone/cancelled scare zone from last year now has a massive gilly suit-style covering over it from the Rivertown restrooms up to the Stunt Coaster plaza. Kings Island did a good job with this area last year, and I'm curious as to how they'll change it up this year with the addition of the covering. I didn't go over into Action Zone tonight to see if they had set anything up, but I might go look if I'm able to go again this weekend. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryanJay Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 Taken from the KI Facebook page, the facade’s been constructed for the Boo Blasters tribute haunted house (Nah JK it’s order of the dragon, which I’m also really upset is about a vampire and not the mythical creature) 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Posted August 31 Share Posted August 31 On 8/30/2025 at 12:55 AM, Losantiville Mining Co. said: New Haunt merch has appeared in the Emporium. (...) Cinema Slasher at Kings Island?? (...) New mugs, fans, and Elvira merch — oh my! I love Elvira, so I have to get that shirt before the season is over! Fun aside: her memoir is a must read. Cassandra Peterson led a fascinating and eventful life even before she became the "Mistress of the Dark." Elvis makes an appearance and there's a story about a house she once lived in and its pool, which embellished or not, is creepier than any of movies she showed on her program. Assuming Cinema Slasher was indeed an unused maze concept, I wonder if it would've went in the KI Theater? The concept is right up my alley, so what a bummer we don't have a maze like that. I mean, who wouldn't want to be chased by a murderous bucket of popcorn welding a knife? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingsislandfan1972 Posted September 1 Share Posted September 1 I wonder if Mike will be here for Haunt this year... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cedar Fair Fanboy Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 20 hours ago, kingsislandfan1972 said: I wonder if Mike will be here for Haunt this year... Yes, confirmed by KI shows and entertainment. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Losantiville Mining Co. Posted September 4 Author Share Posted September 4 Putting this here because it could be foreshadowing for how Kings Island's Haunt map will look. Carowinds released their SCarowinds event map earlier today, and it looks good! To me, it's a mix between the Fright Fest maps that Six Flags has put out over the last few years and what I've previously seen of the Knott's Scary Farm map. I do really miss the old style of the Haunt/FearFest maps, but I'm happy that this one actually looks good. The fact that the skulls that marked the maze entrances were the same design as the ones that marked them on the map was always so cool to me. Some things to notice: Lots of alcohol available. So much that bars make up 9 of the 13 specialty food & drink locations. This map actually has trees! One reason why the regular season maps looked so bad was because it was severely bare bones. They're also using the nighttime version of the map that we briefly saw on the Carowinds app earlier this year. The gray ground they use for the Haunt events is also very good for making the map look better. Something subtle, but interesting, some of the words/dates have stamp lines like the Fright Fest logo has. I'm glad all of the "presented by" marks are not emphasized too much. The interactive lantern is referred to as the "Conductor's Lantern" much like it is at Knott's, though I don't really understand what the relevance of The Conductor is here. Maybe it's just consequence of Six Flags' typical lack of quality control, or maybe it's just what it's always been thought of as being. I hope we can see similar things with the Kings Island Haunt map. The trend of putting Tricks and Treats and Haunt on one map has irked me a lot ever since they started to do it. Link to the SCarowinds 2025 Event Map PDF: https://qr1.be/94L4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlentless Posted September 4 Share Posted September 4 On 9/1/2025 at 9:43 PM, Cedar Fair Fanboy said: Yes, confirmed by KI shows and entertainment. I posted this link back in March so thought I'd do it again since he came up. I do not know Mike but thought this was a nice article. https://www.journal-news.com/lifestyles/the-story-of-one-of-kings-islands-busiest-performers/6HCSAM3U65GG3PUT5A24R2MEZE/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Losantiville Mining Co. Posted September 8 Author Share Posted September 8 Fiesta Texas also released their Fright Fest map, alongside their Tricks and Treats/Oktoberfest map. I didn't realize their event started this past weekend either. This makes FT the second Legacy Six Flags park to adopt the new Cedar Fair map style. I'm a little upset by the pixel quality (it may just be the fact that Facebook drops the quality by a lot), but it's interesting that they have put the entrance at the top of the map instead of rotating the whole thing 180 degrees. It's also very clear that these are screenshots from the PDF pages, not even exported photos. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJSkyFoxx Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 I know park merch has always been a bit pricey as is to be expected in any of these sorts of places, but man do I miss the days when stuff still felt somewhat more reasonable for what you were buying vs today when most hoodies are $70+. That's not to say there still aren't some closer to $50+, but most of the ones I like are in the higher priced categories. Overall, I miss when merch was a little more reasonable vs being absolutely insane now. I get it though....cheap passes etc etc. I got to see some of this stuff while at the park for PN and saw some cool pieces. Just can't justify the cost for it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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