TR: 4/17/06

[KIfan73]

Well, it was pouring down rain on my way to PKI this morning, but, luckily I didn't let that bother me. Ended up being about the best weather I've ever experienced while there.

I just don't know how anybody could complain about the place.

Even if all the rides were broke down, it is just such a beautiful place. Everybody was friendly, the guy at Starbucks even offered to grind up any kind of coffee I wanted.

Overall a great day, can't wait to go back!

[cincyboy0830]

People have a right to complain when they buy single-day tickets and most of the rides are closed.

[The Interpreter]

...especially when they paid the same price for those tickets as people who go in July for a single day.

For season passholders, a less than wonderful day in the park is no big deal. For destination visitors who go once a year or at most twice, a single visit can crush a park. Repeat business is what keeps parks in business....

[Captain Nemo]

Today was a great day to go to PKI. I decided to go to PKI after school since Homework was nothing so I left at 3:30. The park was not packed nor empty. It was just the right amount. I got my ride on FoF, Vortex, Beast, and the best seat on Avatar! Then I made my way to IJST and got front row, IJ is still one of my fav's! After that I went to Adventure Express and rode it twice. I got on all these in a 3 hour span so you do the math. Avatar was a great ride and for everyone, not just kids. Check it out!

[Delirium13]

Where would you recommend to sit on Avatar?

And also which rides weren't working today?

[beastdude]

um on the back outside edge preferably its the best

[RingMaster]

Face-Off, Delirium, Son of Beast (re-tracking, obviously), Train, Viking Fury, and Tomb Raider: The Ride were closed.

...I didn't really worry about those rides; I still got to ride Avatar twice, Top Gun, The Beast, and Flight of Fear all within the span of about an hour and a half. What ****ed me off, though, is the fact that they got rid of the photo-op on FOF. That pretty much killed the whole launch portion of the ride for me (getting blinded by a camera flash adds to the fear onboard the coaster); otherwise, still a great coaster, no doubt.

Oh, BTW, ran into Combat again after I got off FOF.

EDIT: Get the very back seats on either side of the Avatar train, and try to sit on the ends as well. Best seats in the house, if you ask me.

[Gordon Bombay]

People have a right to complain when they buy single-day tickets and most of the rides are closed.

Those people took that risk and were aware of it when they bought their tickets, it happens to everyone, you have a right to complain, but no right to be rude to employees.

[The Interpreter]

I couldn't agree more. The employees are doing the very best they can. They deserve praise. Brickbats, if any, go to the people making the budget decisions and staffing decisions, not to the hardworking, great people working their best to do the best they can in very trying times.

Every park employee I saw was doing a great job, trying to their utmost.

We can't ask for more. PKI employees are great!

That all being said, these budget decisions are going to hurt Kings Island long term, I fear.

[CoastersNSich]

Today was simply a great day at the park. I wanted to go first thing, along with ACE walkback, but because I got back home from St. Louis late last night, I postponed my arrival a bit, and got there just before 3pm, and made my way in quickly.

Face/Off was testing, but never opened, but I don't do it often anyway. Took 2 rides on Top Gun, then 2 on Express, both Racer sides once, and Vortex.

The Hanna-Barbera film in Action Theater was fun but not the most exciting.

The Beast was good, but not very different from what it was before - not bad, but not much smoother like some said.

Nickelodeon Universe just looks very nice. Some may disagree with me, but the designs, graphics, and colors look great! I spent most of my time there filming/taking pictures, but rode Avatar and Fairly Odd Coaster. The trains look cool, but the lack of tunnel is just weird. Some rides on Drop Zone, 2 more Adv Express, and the Eiffel Tower closed out the day.

One question: I thought it was weird for the park to be open the Monday after Easter. Were any schools open?

[cincyboy0830]

People have a right to complain when they buy single-day tickets and most of the rides are closed.

Those people took that risk and were aware of it when they bought their tickets, it happens to everyone, you have a right to complain, but no right to be rude to employees.

Did I say I was rude to employees, uhhhhhhhhhh NO. WAKE UP KID!!!

[CoastersNSich]

...especially when they paid the same price for those tickets as people who go in July for a single day.

Agreed - when Boomerang Bay isn't open, the admisson should be $15-$20 less than in "regular season." Some parks, like Dorney, I remember having lower gate prices when Wildwater Kingddom wasn't open - maybe Geauga Lake did this too.

For season passholders, a less than wonderful day in the park is no big deal.  For destination visitors who go once a year or at most twice, a single visit can crush a park.  Repeat business is what keeps parks in business....

Yeah, though if a passholder has multiple disappointing visits, this may hurt them as well. I've had some downright disgusting days, but I keep coming back, and have a nice time most visits. Of course, not all passholers live in the greater Cincinnati area - some live 2 or more hours away, and only visit 2-3 times...

[Gordon Bombay]

People have a right to complain when they buy single-day tickets and most of the rides are closed.

Those people took that risk and were aware of it when they bought their tickets, it happens to everyone, you have a right to complain, but no right to be rude to employees.

Did I say I was rude to employees, uhhhhhhhhhh NO. WAKE UP KID!!!

Did I say you were rude to employees? Uhm, no, how about we read and study our grammar skills. I said guests in general have no right to be rude to employees and that you and those guests took the risk of rides being broken down upon your purchase, the rides are machines, it even says on the back of your ticket that no attraction is guaranteed.

[DevilMayChew]

Today was a great day to go to PKI. I got my ride on FoF, Vortex, Beast, and the best seat on Avatar!

Haha, Nemo spotted me working unload before i spotted him gettin off the ride, In all the excitement i forgot to open the gates lol

[DevilMayChew]

One question: I thought it was weird for the park to be open the Monday after Easter. Were any schools open?

That was a big thing today. I attend Fairfield High School, we just got out for Spring Break on Thursday. When i got into my Close shift earlier on tonight, i saw that Zephyr had been closed during the morning due to low staff. I assume many schools are already done with their spring break. The parks visiters (what i saw) were mostly Adults or smaller children.

I could really tell staffin was hit big time by Schools and Colleges being in session today. I was pleasantly surprised to see a few people as sends to my Ride

[cincyboy0830]

People have a right to complain when they buy single-day tickets and most of the rides are closed.

Those people took that risk and were aware of it when they bought their tickets, it happens to everyone, you have a right to complain, but no right to be rude to employees.

Did I say I was rude to employees, uhhhhhhhhhh NO. WAKE UP KID!!!

Did I say you were rude to employees? Uhm, no, how about we read and study our grammar skills. I said guests in general have no right to be rude to employees and that you and those guests took the risk of rides being broken down upon your purchase, the rides are machines, it even says on the back of your ticket that no attraction is guaranteed.

On the back of the ticket it says, "customer satisfaction guaranteed."

...And I was not satisfied.

[rcmaster]

But it also says that they are not responsible for attractions not being open and for forces beyond their control (eg weather)

[wickedv6]

I agree ... if your planning to travel a long way to KI.. then try to find what the weather is gonna be like that day as best you can..

as for the rides being closed... well.. that's why I'd never go opening day.. I plan to wait til summer when things are in full swing..

[Delirium_Guy]

I agree with everyone about NOT being rude to employees. Quite honestly, its the one thing that STILL sets PKI above the standard. With that said, my group was tremendously underwhelmed with the Park today. I realize that rides breaking down are out of their control, I truly do understand that. However, Son of Beast not being done from winter rehab is something that boggles me.....especially considering the EXTREMELY MILD winter we had here in Cincinnati. The train not operating, thats another one that could have been helped. I understand Tomb Raider and Face / Off both bit the big one over the weekend, though Face/Off cycled constantly today.

I agree with Interpreter, I feel the decisions that management has made will hurt the Park this year. The whole change in how you enter the Park is nothing but a cluster****. Thank god we did the ACE walk back and were able to avoid the mess. In general, I think the Park looks like ****. Quite honestly, not sure I've seen it look worse. I'm very let down with Nick Universe. To me, the entire area looks thrown together and seems like they rushed to complete everything by opening day. Again, I'm scratching my head because they certainly can't blame winter weather for delays. Avatar is way fun, more so than I anticpated. Easily the best new addition since Delirium and 10000 times better than last years *spectacular* addition :-)

I think its obvious that Nick Universe had the budget cut. I love how they landscaped Avatar with gravel, just like Italian Job. Would a little mulch hurt? We stood on the Eiffel Tower today. The Park is just not the same. The charm is gone. The beauty is gone. Nick Universe really does look like a mini Action Zone like someone else said. Italian Job is a joke. It doesn't surprise me that it runs just as bad as it did last year in terms of theming, but I honestly had hoped they may have fixed some of the issues. I like 20 minutes from PKI now. In years past, I'd be in the Park practically every day. I can't honestly say I have a lot of desire to rush back. The cuts that have been made are very noticeable......and the same things that I am saying are being echoed across other message boards as well. Definitley not one of our better visits today.

On a closing note, again, thanks to all the employees. We certainly ran across our fair share of exceptional ride ops today. You DO make a huge difference in the experience at the Park, I know that certainly played a part in making our day a bit brighter today!

[Jasper]

Is there any word on what rides rides will be closed this weekend. Hopefully Nick U will not be too packed and i can get in there and ride some awesome new rides and get some pic.

[SeasonPass4Life]

We were there on Monday, 4/17 and had a really good day. My 9 yo daughter and her friends LOVED Nick U. All of the adults in our group liked the fact that we could ride the new rides with our kids. Avatar is a great ride and I honestly think that it would do well anywhere in the park. It's for sure not just a kid ride!

The park looked pretty much the same as always except for being so early in the season some of the flowers had not grown much or were just not planted yet. That will happen over time so no worries there.

I keep reading about customers not being rude to employees but wanted to say that one of the employees was apparently very rude to my sister and her son. I wasn't with them at the time so won't go into things I don't really know about. I think that kindness definatly has to go both directions. It seemed to me that most of the employees were very friendly. Maybe even more friendly than I have experienced in the past.

As far as ride closings... it's crazy to act like they should discount admission or give you money back if a ride you wanted to go on is broken down or closed for refurbishing. Even if the park is closed all winter that doesn't mean thay can do it all then. There are some things that can't be done when the weather is too cold. Anyone ever go to Disney? There are always attractions closed for refurbish or repair. It's just something that happens at Theme parks. Deal with it and go ride something else. You would think that half the park was closed the way some of you are acting! LOL

Now lets get to my two complaints. Food prices are just stupid this year. Why anyone would buy food at PKI is beyond me. We always try leave and go eat somewhere near by and it saves us an average of $30 to $40 dollars for the day everytime. I figuered it up. You can go to Outback, which is very close to PKI on the north side and eat a full meal for what you can buy lunch for the family at PKI. The only thing we buy is $2 refills for our souviner mug from last year. (Although we do like to buy the mini doughnuts next to La Rosa's)

Secondly, I have to say that the one thing I'm really sick of is the state of the walls at the end of The Racer. It is absolutly GROSS. They don't even look like they were touched over the winter (I'm hoping that was because you can't paint in the cold and it will happen soon). Please someome get this fixed.

Over all I would say that our day was a smashing success. We will be back next weekend if possible and the following weekend and the next.... well. you get the picture. I just can't wait till the park is open on Mondays every week, it's my day off. We drive from Indianapolis by the way. There are 12 of us all together that have season passes and we LOVE PKI!

Hope to hear you screaming on The Beast soon!

[WooferBearATL]

UNIVERSAL ALL YOU CAN EAT MEAL PASS

Now There's an Idear!

[Delirium13]

On the back of the ticket it says, "customer satisfaction guaranteed."

...And I was not satisfied.

Well then why don't you kindly go tell Guest relations because listening to you complain is getting really annoying.

[WooferBearATL]

Well then why don't you kindly go tell Guest relations because listening to you complain is getting really annoying.

If you turn the sound down on the computer it should not be nearly as annoying.

[cewldre]

On the back of the ticket it says, "customer satisfaction guaranteed."

...And I was not satisfied.

Well then why don't you kindly go tell Guest relations because listening to you complain is getting really annoying.

and guests relations does listen, I get to read the reports they run on a daily basis involving guests and guest service. Try them, they do do a good job.

[BoddaH1994]

On the back of the ticket it says, "customer satisfaction guaranteed."

...And I was not satisfied.

Well then why don't you kindly go tell Guest relations because listening to you complain is getting really annoying.

The people from the park do read our forums, so in a way this is an effective way to voice a concern. Also, I think most people on here can admit that the cuts hit the park pretty hard, so if corperate sees that there are a lot of dissatisfied people out there, then maybe they'll stop before it starts looking like Six Flags Ohio Kingdom.

In all honesty, I see very few people who would bother to come on here just to complain about the park, but rather there are a lot of people who voice concerns about the well being of the park. A lot of people see PKIC as a forum full of complainers, when that's not the case. In all reality, we have 2000 different voices and opinions so inherently you're not going to be able to please all the people all the time.

[WooferBearATL]

The people from the park do read our forums, so in a way this is an effective way to voice a concern. Also, I think most people on here can admit that the cuts hit the park pretty hard, so if corperate sees that there are a lot of dissatisfied people out there, then maybe they'll stop before it starts looking like Six Flags Ohio Kingdom.

In all honesty, I see very few people who would bother to come on here just to complain about the park, but rather there are a lot of people who voice concerns about the well being of the park. A lot of people see PKIC as a forum full of complainers, when that's not the case. In all reality, we have 2000 different voices and opinions so inherently you're not going to be able to please all the people all the time.

I don't see that anyone would really come on the board if they didn't really care about the park.

Honestly, in the time that I've been posting I think that there really has only been one troll that was merely trying to disrupt.

[The Interpreter]

UNIVERSAL ALL YOU CAN EAT MEAL PASS

Now There's an Idear!

Yeah, but the best restaurants at both parks are NOT included in that deal.

Mythos, for example. Or the place in the Oak Tree!

Or the Irish Pub place over at the Studio Park.

All you can eat at Mel's. For me, that wouldn't be very much!

[Browntggrr]

Those people took that risk and were aware of it when they bought their tickets

They may have been made aware when they purchased their tickets at the park, but if they bought them online, or traveled a couple hundered miles there is no way to tell before they left their homes. The common guest probably believed that since the park has has all off season to get the bugs worked out, that all the rides would be operating.

Remember, 95% of the people that go to the park (or any park for that matter) do not watch these sites the way we do. It is impossible for the average guest to understand the ins and outs of the park operations that we discuss. I would even bet that 80% of the people that are going to be going to PKI this summer don't even know that the park is being sold. We all know that the first few weeks the park is open, things are a little out of place, and most of us have the opportunity to go back later in the year. But for a family, they may have planned to go this past weekend to avoid the crowds, or because they have no other opportunity during the year to go.

Any ride at any park can go down at any time. That is the risk everyone takes, it is just unfortunate that PKI had multiple thrill rides down at the same time which is very un-PKI like.

[Browntggrr]

As far as ride closings... it's crazy to act like they should discount admission or give you money back if a ride you wanted to go on is broken down or closed for refurbishing. Even if the park is closed all winter that doesn't mean thay can do it all then. There are some things that can't be done when the weather is too cold. Anyone ever go to Disney? There are always attractions closed for refurbish or repair. It's just something that happens at Theme parks. Deal with it and go ride something else.

I agree that the park cannot discount tickets due to ride closings, but comparing a seasonal park to a year-round park like Disney is not the same thing. PKI has had since November to get ready for opening day; whereas Disney is always open- so they have no choice but to take the ride down during normal operations.

There are also more attractions at Disney than at PKI. If a ride is down, there are a numerous amount more to go to.

And as far as being too cold to get some things done around the park; if they can build muti-million dollar rides in the winter, they can fix then in the winter as well. Even Cedar Point repainted Magnum last off season, and CP is located right on the shores of Lake Erie where the winter temeratures of the lake affect the temp in the park by 10 to 15 degrees if the wind is blowing from the North.