There’s a lot of negative sentiment about the guest experience in 2026, but what are some of the things you think Kings Island has done well this year?

Definitely Phantom Theater: Opening Nightmare! Yes, there are "wish list" ideas of mine, but I definitley feel it was done well! I also think the July 4th event was done fairly well despite basically being thrown together by corporate. I said before that 4th of July needs to be more than just "come experience the park as usual and stay for a bigger fireworks show" and they did more by having very good decor, special food offerings, as well as patriotic themed characters, photo opportunities, and entertainment! I also am very thankful they changed the International Street music back to being orchestral tracks which is something I have been begging for awhile and am glad they listened! Now I hope they build off of that and add more to the I-street playlist over time. If there's one song I would remove, it would be that piano piece (idk what the name of it is). It feels too much like the jazz to me. I think the music played should be grand orchestral pieces like what you hear in movies. It adds to the reveal of I-street. I'm also glad they changed the main park playlist as it was the same songs since 2022 as well. Now my wish is to get the Planet/Camp Snoopy playlist swapped out with Vince Guaraldi music and then swap out the Rivertown playlist with actual bluegrass instead of bluegrass pop covers.

With all this in mind, I think 2027 is going to be the most important season for the park from a guest experience perspective. Like KI is imo dangerously close to a mass boycott based on what I've seen on the pass groups as well as tower topics video comments! Like as diehard fans we cannot let our love for the park cause us to not hold the park accountable! Like the longer the park goes without a major attention grabbing attraction and if the guest sentiment continues to decline, I see attendance plummeting in 2027/28 to a point where it'll be hard to build it back up! Like it's not just a few park superfans who nitpick everything that are noticing the declining guest experience. The general public who are the majority of the park's revenue source are also noticing! The park cannot rely on the "They'll come anyway" mentality anymore! People are taking note of that and will take their money elsewhere if nothing changes!

I appreciate the park continually updating The Beast by refurbishing the 2nd drop hill this season.